DEFENCE

Afghanistan

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of civilians affected by unmanned aerial vehicle strikes in Afghanistan.

Andrew Robathan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the then Minister for the Armed Forces, the hon. Member for North Devon (Sir Nick Harvey), on 13 September 2011, Official Report, column 1153W, to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas)

Afghanistan

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what definition his Department uses of the term civilian in respect of UK operations in Afghanistan.

Andrew Robathan: There is no single definition of a civilian in use in respect of UK operations in Afghanistan. However, the law of armed conflict makes a distinction between combatants, who take part in fighting and non-combatants, who do not and must be protected as far as possible from its effects.

Armed Forces: Crime

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many summary offences handed to service personnel have been entered onto the Police National Database since 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: Service police have been entering conviction data onto the Police National Database (PND) since March 2011. This includes some historical data dating back before 2006. Other forces civil police only see the headline offence with a marker and must contact the service police for further information with regards to gaining additional detail.
	All convictions data (which include summary offences) are now entered onto the PND. However, information is uploaded onto the PND as intelligence and contains both conviction and non-conviction data. It is for this reason that we are unable to provide a figure of exactly how many summary offences have been uploaded to PND.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of school leavers entered the armed forces in each of the last five years.

Mark Francois: holding answer 26 October 2012
	The information relating to number of entrants joining the armed forces directly from school is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Redundancy

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he plans to take to encourage those who have been made redundant recently from the armed forces to join the reserves.

Mark Francois: holding answer 26 October 2012
	All three services are working to make it as quick and easy as possible for individuals leaving the regular forces to join the reserves, including those who leave under redundancy terms. This includes simplifying administrative processes, examining the use of incentives and ensuring coherent communications so individuals who are leaving the regular forces are aware of the opportunities that exist in the reserves.

Armed Forces: Retirement

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which three and four-star personnel have retired from the armed forces since May 2010.

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many senior military personnel have retired from the armed forces since May 2010; who they were; and how many meetings each such person has held with Ministers or senior civil servants in his Department since their retirement.

Mark Francois: During the period 1 May 2010 to 1 October 2012, there were 24 three and four-star armed forces personnel who have retired or left the services for other reasons. The information concerning meetings with Ministers or senior civil servants since their departure is not held in the format requested, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Three and four-star officers who have retired between 1 May 2010 to 1 October 2012 are as follows:
	
		
			 Service   
			 Royal Navy Admiral Trevor Soar 
			  Vice-Admiral Richard Ibbotson 
			  Vice-Admiral Timothy Laurence 
			  Vice-Admiral Paul Lambert 
			  Vice-Admiral Peter Wilkinson 
			  Vice-Admiral Alan Massey 
			  Vice-Admiral Robert Cooling 
			    
			 Royal Marines Lieutenant-General James Dutton 
			    
			 Army General Kevin O'Donoghue 
			  General John McColl 
			  Lieutenant-General Arundell Leakey 
			  Lieutenant-General David Bill 
			  Lieutenant-General Richard Applegate 
			  Lieutenant-General Christopher Brown 
			  Lieutenant-General Robert Baxter 
			  Lieutenant-General Paul Newton 
			  Lieutenant-General Andrew Graham 
			  Lieutenant-General Barnabas White-Spunner 
			    
		
	
	
		
			 Royal Air Force Air Chief Marshal Simon Bryant 
			  Air Chief Marshal Graham Stirrup 
			  Air Marshal Iain McNicoll 
			  Air Marshal Christopher Nickols 
			  Air Marshal David Walker 
			  Air Marshal Peter Ruddock

Armed Forces: Retirement

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the role of Ministers in his Department is in monitoring the commercial employment contracts agreed by former military personnel post-retirement.

Mark Francois: Ministry of Defence Ministers have no role in monitoring commercial employment contracts. Applications made by former military personnel to take up commercial appointments up to two years from their last paid date in service are considered at the appropriate delegated level. For the most senior former personnel, this will take the form of a recommendation from an internal panel for endorsement by the Permanent Secretary, and consideration by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many prosecutions of (a) rape and (b) sexual assault of members of the armed forces have been conducted in (i) Iraq since 2003 and (ii) Afghanistan since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: There have been no prosecutions of members of the armed forces for rape or sexual assault conducted in Iraq since 2003 or Afghanistan since 2001. A prosecution would not be held in theatre, provided the case could be heard in the United Kingdom at a later stage.

Bahrain

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces are attached to the Bahraini armed forces or are advising the Bahraini Government.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 29 October 2012
	No members of the UK armed forces are permanently attached to the Bahraini armed forces, or to the Bahrain Government as advisers. The UK does regularly deploy short term training teams to Bahrain to provide specific training to the Bahrain defence force in niche areas. These deployments are temporary in nature and linked to specific capacity building projects.

British Indian Ocean Territory

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent requests he has received from the US administration for the use of Diego Garcia for (a) military action against Iran and (b) operations in the Persian Gulf.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 1 November 2012
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the then Minister for the Armed Forces, the hon. Member for North Devon (Sir Nick Harvey), on 6 March 2012, Official Report, column 660W. The UK continues to work with other countries to achieve a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear ambitions. We wish to see a peaceful, negotiated diplomatic settlement to the Iranian nuclear crisis, by which Iran gives the world confidence that it is not developing and will not develop nuclear weapons. All our efforts are devoted towards such a peaceful resolution through a twin track strategy of engagement and sanctions, although we are clear that all options for addressing the issue remain on the table.
	There have been numerous occasions in the past when the US has requested, and we have agreed, the temporary use of UK bases and base areas or UK sovereign territory. The precise circumstances are always subject to the closest consultation, including all legal aspects.

Defence: Procurement

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what meetings staff of his Department have had with former staff of his Department employed by defence contractors to discuss the (a) Terrier programme, (b) Capability Upgrade Strategy (Pilot), (c) Naval EHF/SHF SATCOM Terminals programme, (d) Land Environment Air Picture Provision programme, (e) Medium Range Radar RT997 programme, (f) Sting Ray Mod 1 Insensitive Munition Warhead programme, (g) Sentry Mode S IFF programme and (h) Lucie-Systems Dismounted Close Combat Consolidation since June 2010.

Philip Dunne: The information requested is not held by the Ministry of Defence.

Military Police

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many schedule 2 offences were reported to the Royal Military Police in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: Schedule 2 of the Armed Forces Act 2006 incorporates in excess of 50 offences. Information relating to these offences is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the future of the Ministry of Defence Police and their duties; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: holding answer 31 October 2012
	The Departmental Mandate and Statement of Requirement for the Ministry of Defence Police was issued in August 2012. I will place a copy in the Library of the House.

Somalia

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on which dates a UK warship has not been available for Operation Atalanta over the last two years.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 2 November 2012
	The Royal Navy maintains a constant presence, including at least one frigate or destroyer, east of Suez. These vessels are able to carry out a number of duties including specific deliberate counter-piracy operations as the need arises.
	Since 2008, the Royal Navy has contributed to EU, NATO and CMF counter-piracy operations in several capacities—from the contribution of assets, to the provision of the Operational Headquarters and Operational Commander for Operation Atalanta.
	Over the last two years, HMS Richmond supported the EU's Operation Atalanta between 22 January 2011 and 10 July 2011.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have had with the Attorney-General's office on the legality of armed drone strikes.

Andrew Robathan: It is the longstanding position of Government, reflected in the ministerial code, that whether the Law Officers have been consulted on any issue on any matter is not disclosed outside Government.

Veterans

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration his Department has given to the creation of a Government department with responsibility for veterans.

Mark Francois: holding answer 25 October 2012
	There are a number of mechanisms in place to ensure that Government policies towards veterans are co-ordinated effectively, including my own role as the Minister responsible for Veterans, and the Cabinet sub-committee on the Armed Forces Covenant chaired by the Minister for Government Policy, and on which I sit. In addition, in September 2012 the Prime Minister appointed Lord Ashcroft as Special Representative for Veterans' Transition. He will review the support available to service leavers making the transition to civilian life and make recommendations for improving that support and for better co-ordination across Government and with service charities.

Veterans: Radiation Exposure

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost to his Department has been in respect of (a) solicitors', (b) barristers', (c) experts' fees and (d) other costs in relation to ionising radiation appeals at war pensions tribunals to date; and what estimate he has made of the likely costs of such appeal hearings in January and February 2013.

Mark Francois: In the current group of ongoing nuclear test veterans war pensions appeals the Ministry of Defence has, to date been notified of bills as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 Solicitors 185,541.80 
			 Barristers 191,017.05 
			 Experts 37,887 
			 Other costs 98,931.94 
			 Total 513,377.79 
		
	
	These figures exclude VAT and do not include the cost of any associated Ministry of Defence resourcing or obtaining security clearances for individuals involved in the cases.
	The Treasury Solicitor's Department, for reasons of government accounting, charges for its services on a cost recovery basis.
	We remain keen to work with the tribunal and appellants with a view to ensuring that costs relating to all war pensions appeals are proportionate and kept to a minimum. The hearing is due to commence on 28 January 2013 and is likely to run until mid-February. At present we estimate the cost of this hearing will be around £140,000 (excluding VAT), however, this will be dependent on the precise work involved.

TREASURY

Community Investment Tax Relief

Chris White: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent consideration he has given to widening Community Investment Tax Relief to financial intermediaries other than community development finance institutions for the purpose of encouraging social investment.

David Gauke: As announced at Budget 2012, the Treasury is conducting an internal review of the financial barriers to social enterprise, which is considering broad options for taking forward the Treasury’s work on financial barriers in this area.

Corporation Tax

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total value of research and development relief for corporation tax for large companies was in (a) 2007-08, (b) 2008-09, (c) 2009-10, (d) 2010-11 and (e) 2011-12.

David Gauke: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given on 1 November 2012, Official Report, column 388W.

Corporation Tax: Video Games

Naomi Long: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent progress has been made by his Department's consultation on corporation tax reliefs for high-end television animation and video games industries.

David Gauke: HM Treasury published a consultation on the design of the corporation tax reliefs for animation, high-end television and video games on 18 June 2012. This consultation closed on 10 September.
	The Government are considering the responses they have received. A Government response to the consultation will be published on 11 December 2012 along with draft legislation for consultation.

EU Budget

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the (a) gross contributions net of the UK rebate and (b) net contributions for the UK to the EU in (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2013-14.

Greg Clark: The Office for Budget Responsibility's (OBR) latest forecast of both the UK gross (net of the UK rebate) and net contributions to the EU Budget, over the periods 2010-11 to 2016-17, was published in March 2012. This can be found in Table 2.15 of the OBR's ‘economic and fiscal outlook Supplementary fiscal tables’ at:
	http://budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/

Excise Duties: Tobacco

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he plans to take to ensure that UK sovereignty over the setting of excise duty rates, and use of that revenue, during negotiations on the draft guidelines for the implementation of Article 6 of the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, in Seoul in November 2012.

Sajid Javid: Article 6 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the draft text of the guidelines for implementation of that Article make clear that the guidelines currently under negotiation are non-binding and that States Party to the Convention retain full sovereignty over fiscal matters, including how revenues from tobacco taxation are spent. The issue of a threat to UK sovereignty over the setting of excise rates and the use of that revenue does not therefore arise.

Income Tax

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give consideration to extending the personal allowance level at which lower-paid employees begin paying income tax to £12,000 per annum.

David Gauke: The Government believe the income tax system should give more support to those on low to middle incomes, rewarding the efforts of those who choose to work. This is why the coalition Government have committed to increasing the personal allowance to £10,000.
	Together the personal allowance increases announced by the Government in this Parliament will benefit 25 million individuals, and take 2 million low income individuals out of income tax by April 2013.

Mobile Phones

Mike Freer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which companies supply (a) mobile telephones and (b) mobile data services to his Department.

Sajid Javid: Mobile telephony services for HM Treasury are provided by Vodafone. The contract covers (a) mobile telephones and (b) mobile data services.

PAYE

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans the Government has to provide support to businesses (a) prior to and (b) following the introduction of the real-time information reporting system to assist them with the transition.

David Gauke: HMRC is providing a range of guidance for businesses about preparing for and operating PAYE in Real Time and has recently written to all employers who will join the real time information (RTI) reporting system in April 2013. They are also making free, RTI enabled Basic PAYE Tools (BPT), available for employers with nine or fewer employees.
	HMRC’s Customer Contact and Education Teams will continue to support those customers in need of help, before, during and after migration to RTI, including specialist help available via the Online Support Helpline.

PAYE

Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he plans to take to increase small businesses' awareness of his plan to require them to report PAYE information monthly to HM Revenue and Customs.

David Gauke: Under real time information (RTI) employers will report PAYE information to HMRC each time they pay their employees. Most employers will join the RTI system in April 2013.
	HMRC's communications plan is informed by customer insight. This shows that the best time to inform small and medium employers about changes to their obligations is when it is time for them to act. That time has come and, with six months to go, HMRC is now intensifying its awareness campaign. The campaign includes writing to more than 1.4 million employers; providing targeted e-mails and flyers to representative bodies, agents and software developers to issue to their members or publish on their websites; media activity; advertising on Facebook; regular live Twitter Q&As; You Tube videos and road shows across the country.

PAYE

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much of the £108 million budget allocated to HM Revenue and Customs to deliver the real-time information recording programme has been spent on (a) advertising and (b) raising awareness of the Government's recently announced changes to the programme.

David Gauke: HMRC's communication plan is informed by customer insight. This shows that the best time to inform small and medium employers about changes to their obligations is when it is time for them to act. That time has come and, with six months to go, HMRC is now intensifying its awareness campaign.
	HMRC continuously monitor the impact of their communication work and allocate funds in line with communication needs identified. The campaign includes a range of communications activities to ensure all employers are aware of their obligations under RTI.
	A small part of this is paid for advertising. A campaign will run from mid October to mid November. The campaign has not yet been invoiced and the final cost is not yet known.
	Letters are also being issued, during October and November, to all employers who will join RTI from April 2013. The cost of these letters is approximately £500,000.

PAYE

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses HM Revenue and Customs (a) has contacted directly and (b) plans to contact directly to alert them of their forthcoming obligations under the real-time information recording system.

David Gauke: HMRC has recently written directly to over 1.4 million employers covering around 1.9 million PAYE schemes. It will be writing again to those schemes that have not already joined real-time information recording system in February 2013.

PAYE

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what targets he has put in place in relation to the (a) speed and (b) accuracy of the transfer to the Department for Work and Pensions of tax information collected under the real-time information recording system.

David Gauke: Relevant PAYE information, that is collected from employers under the real time information reporting system, will be transferred to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on a daily basis.
	The information transferred will be an exact copy of the information reported by employers.

PAYE

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps HM Revenue and Customs has taken to alert employers to their forthcoming obligations under the real-time information recording system.

David Gauke: Under real time information (RTI) employers will report PAYE information to HMRC each time they pay their employees. Most employers will join the RTI system in April 2013.
	HMRC's communications plan is informed by customer insight. This shows that the best time to inform small and medium employers about changes to their obligations is when it is time for them to act. That time has come and, with six months to go, HMRC is now intensifying its awareness campaign. The campaign includes writing to more than 1.4 million employers; providing targeted e-mails and flyers to representative bodies, agents and software developers to issue to their members or publish on their websites; media activity; advertising on Facebook; regular live Twitter Q&As; You Tube videos and road shows across the country.

Personal Income: Cumbria

John Woodcock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of households that include 16-18 year olds in (a) Barrow and Furness constituency and (b) Cumbria that had a gross income of (i) below £20,817, (ii) between £20,818 and £25,521 and (iii) between £25,522 and £30,810 in each of the last five financial years.

Mark Hoban: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.
	Estimates of the income distribution are published in the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series. HBAI uses household income adjusted (or ‘equivalised’) for household size and composition, to provide a proxy for standard of living.
	The requested information is not available as the sample size of this survey is not sufficient to provide estimates at constituency or local authority level.

Public Appointments

Luciana Berger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many appointments made to the boards of public bodies overseen by his Department have been (a) male and (b) female since May 2010.

Sajid Javid: In the period May 2010 to October 2012 the Treasury made 14 new appointments to the boards of its public bodies. Of these, 12 were made to men and two were made to women.

Tax Allowances: Personal Pensions

Liam Byrne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the distributional effect on incomes of tax relief on personal pensions to individuals and households.

Sajid Javid: holding answer 2 November 2012
	Available distributional analyses of contributions to individuals' personal pensions can be found in Tables PEN3, PEN4 and PEN5 on the HMRC website at
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/pensions/menu.htm

Tax Returns

Robert Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many closure notices HM Revenue and Customs issued in each tax year between 1989-90 and 2008-09, where relief had been claimed by the taxpayer using schemes later closed down by (a) section 62 of the Finance Act 1987 (No. 2), (b) sections 112 and 115 of the Income and Corporation Tax Act 1988, (c) section 59 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, (d) section 858 of the Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005 and (e) section 58 of the Finance Act 2008;
	(2)  how many people, in each tax year between 1989-90 and 2008-09, set up Isle of Man or other trusts that were used in schemes later shut down by (a) section 62 of the Finance Act 1987 (No. 2), (b) sections 112 and 115 of the Income and Corporation Tax Act 1988, (c) section 59 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, (d) section 858 of the Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005 and (e) section 58 of the Finance Act 2008;
	(3)  how many closure notices HM Revenue and Customs issued making (a) an adjustment and (b) no adjustment to a tax return, in each tax year between 1989-90 and 2008-09, in circumstances where relief had been claimed using schemes later closed down by (i) section 62 of the Finance Act 1987 (No. 2), (ii) sections 112 and 115 of the Income and Corporation Tax Act 1988, (iii) section 59 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, (iv) section 858 of the Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005 and (v) section 58 of the Finance Act 2008.

David Gauke: Section 62 Finance (No 2) Act 1987 and the later equivalent provisions referred to in the question retrospectively restored the important and well established principle that Double Taxation Treaties do not affect a UK resident's liability to UK tax on their income or gains.
	Section 58 Finance Act 2008 was introduced when evidence emerged that a large number of people were using the schemes and in light of a number of factors (including the widespread use, aggressive nature and artificiality of the scheme, the deliberate attempt to avoid the aim of the 1987 legislation, and the need to ensure fairness and certainty for all taxpayers). The legislation put beyond doubt, again with retrospective effect, that the schemes did not work—and never had done.
	I am unable to provide the information requested because HM Revenue & Customs does not hold the information in the manner stipulated and a search of their systems and records would be at a disproportionate cost, is unlikely to provide the requested information, and any information found may still not be in the form you require. It may also be useful to explain that the original legislation introduced in 1987 preceded self-assessment procedures, including the introduction of closure notices.
	HMRC can provide the following information which may be relevant to the questions being asked.
	With regard to the number of trusts, a number of people using the wholly artificial tax avoidance schemes set up more than one trust in attempting to avoid tax, and in other cases more than one person used the same trust. HMRC identified roughly 3,000 people who had set up one or more Interest in Possession trusts that were likely to have been used for the wholly artificial scheme targeted by section 58 of the Finance Act 2008. Enquiries were opened into the returns made by many of these individuals. In a substantial number of cases it was established that the trust either was not in fact set up for the scheme, was set up for the scheme but not used, or was set up for the scheme but used for a later year.
	HMRC is enquiring into the returns of approximately 2,000 people who used the scheme under enquiry and many of them used the scheme for more than one year, therefore users may have received multiple closure notices. In some cases enquiries were not opened but the position of the Exchequer has been safeguarded by the issuing of assessments. Where an assessment has been made for a year in respect of the wholly artificial scheme targeted by section 58, no closure notice would have been issued for the same year.
	HMRC has become aware that enquiries into a small number of returns have been closed in error. HMRC does not consider that this affects the rationale for the introduction of section 58.

VAT

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with his European counterparts on the principle of requiring companies to pay VAT in the countries where their profits are raised.

David Gauke: Companies are required to pay VAT in any EU country where they undertake economic activity, regardless of whether profits are raised there.
	The most recent discussion on the application of VAT took place at ECOFIN on 9 October 2012. This meeting, which was attended by the Chancellor, agreed a VAT regulation which will support important VAT changes affecting sales to consumers in the telecoms, broadcasting and e-service sectors. In future VAT will be applied to those sales in the country where the customer is located, rather than where the supplier is based. These changes will come into effect across the EU on 1 January 2015.

VAT

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what powers HM Revenue and Customs has to ensure that VAT costs passed on between businesses are representative of the VAT actually paid.

David Gauke: On creation of HMRC in 2005 a Review of Powers, Deterrents and Safeguards was established to align powers and penalties across various taxes. As a result of this review, Parliament introduced schedule 36 to Finance Act 2008 which modernised HMRC's information and inspection powers from 1 April 2009. These powers include HMRC's right to visit businesses to inspect premises, assets and records and ask taxpayers and third parties for more information and documents for the purposes of checking a customer's compliance with their tax obligations, including VAT.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcoholic Drinks: Prices

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of whether introducing minimum pricing for units of alcohol is an effective way to tackle excessive drinking.

Jeremy Browne: The Government will publish an impact assessment this autumn that will estimate the impact of minimum unit pricing on a range of issues including consumption, crime, health and business.

Biometrics

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) DNA profiles and (b) biological samples have been deleted or destroyed since Royal Assent was given to the Protection of Freedoms Bill on 1 May 2012.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 31 October 2012
	39,799 DNA profiles were deleted from the National DNA Database between 1 May 2012 and 26 October 2012.
	34,496 of the DNA profiles deleted were taken from individuals by UK law enforcement agencies, of which 17,945 were taken by England and Wales police forces.
	5,303 of the DNA profiles deleted were recovered from crime scenes by UK law enforcement agencies, of which 4,795 were recovered by England and Wales police forces.
	The number of biological samples destroyed is not held centrally. Records are kept by the forensic service providers storing samples on behalf of police forces.

Public Order Act 1936

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to publish the results of the consultation on reforming section 5 of the Public Order Act 1936.

Damian Green: The Government are carefully considering the responses to the consultation ‘Police Powers to Promote and Maintain Public Order’, part of which sought views on the significance of the word “insulting” in section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986. The Government will publish its response to the consultation in due course.

Research and Development

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on research and development in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10, (c) 2010-11 and (d) 2011-12; and how much she plans to spend in (i) 2012-13, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15.

James Brokenshire: Expenditure on research and development by Departments including the Home Office is collected by the Office for National Statistics and published as annual official statistics by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills. The latest published information shows that £44 million was spent on research and development in the Home Office in 2008-09, £43 million in 2009-10 and £42 million in 2010-11 (net in cash terms).
	For future years research and development expenditure will be determined as part of the annual planning round process and is subject to consultation with Ministers on how funding should be prioritised. This process is currently being undertaken.

Theft: Barrow in Furness

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of theft from the person there were in Barrow in Furness constituency in each of the last five years, by the nature of item stolen.

Jeremy Browne: Statistics are not available for the constituency of Barrow in Furness. The available information relates to offences of theft from the person recorded in the combined Community Safety Partnership areas of Barrow-in-Furness and South Lakeland and is given in the table. Information on the type of item stolen is not available from the police recorded crime statistics.
	
		
			 Offences of theft from the person recorded in the combined CommunitySafety Partnership areas of Barrow-in-Furness and South Lakeland 
			 Financial year Number 
			 2007-08 63 
			 2008-09 76 
			 2009-10 50 
			 2010-11 54 
			 2011-12 35

INDEPENDENT PARLIAMENTARY STANDARDS AUTHORITY COMMITTEE

Pay

Helen Jones: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, who approved the current remuneration arrangements for the interim Chief Executive of IPSA.

Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.
	Letter from Paula Higson, 1 November 2012
	As acting Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking who approved the arrangements for my remuneration.
	I was appointed as acting Chief Executive by Sir Ian Kennedy, IPSA's Chair, to provide cover on a part-time basis while the Chief Executive, Andrew McDonald, received treatment for prostate cancer. The Chair also agreed and approved my remuneration in advance of my being appointed.
	Furthermore, details of my remuneration are publicly available on IPSA's website at:
	http://parliamentarystandards.org.uk/transparency/Documents/IPSA%20facts%20and%20figures/Miscellaneous/IPSA%20-%20Senior%20Staff%20Salaries.pdf

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Fuels: Timber

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of the development of the wood fuel sector.

Gregory Barker: As part of the development of the UK Bioenergy Strategy we renewed our analysis on biomass feedstocks, including wood fuel, available to the UK. This analysis considered the future potential resource from the UK and from global supplies.
	The UK bioenergy and supporting documents were published in April 2012 and are available from the DECC website.

Nuclear Power

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he plans to publish on his departmental website the agendas and minutes of the new Nuclear Industry Council; and whether any financial resources from his departmental budget will be used to support the new council.

John Hayes: The agenda and minutes of the Nuclear Industry Council will be published on the DECC website. The only costs DECC will cover are administrative costs providing secretariat functions and provision of venues for council meetings.

Nuclear Power

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when the Nuclear Industry Council will next meet.

John Hayes: The date for the first Nuclear Industry Council meeting is still under consideration.

Nuclear Power

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the terms of reference are for the Nuclear Industry Council.

John Hayes: The Nuclear Industry Council will bring leading representatives from across the nuclear industry together to ensure that the UK's nuclear industry can build on its strengths and develop the new capabilities needed to compete in a competitive UK and global market. It reflects the Government's desire to build a strong industrial strategy in partnership with industry across a range of key sectors. The full terms of reference will be developed between Government and council representatives and agreed at the inaugural meeting of the council and published on the DECC website.

Nuclear Power

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how regularly he expects the Nuclear Industry Council to meet.

John Hayes: It is expected that the Nuclear Industry Council will meet between three to four times a year.

Nuclear Power

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on Chinese participation in the building of nuclear power stations in the UK.

John Hayes: The UK is the most open economy in the world and welcomes inward investment into the sector, including from China. The UK has a world class nuclear regulatory regime led by the independent Office for Nuclear Regulation. The regulator would ensure any company operating in this sector was in compliance with UK nuclear regulation as regards safety, security and operating track record.

Vacancies

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his Department's vacancy rate was in 2011-12; and what vacancy rate has been assumed for 2012-13.

Gregory Barker: The vacancy rate for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in 2011-12 was 14%. DECC has assumed a vacancy rate of 5% for 2012-13.

Wind Power

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change for how many onshore wind turbines consent has been given in each (a) region and (b) constituent part of the UK in each of the last five years.

Gregory Barker: The following table shows the number of onshore wind turbines consented in each region of the UK between 2007 and 2011. DECC does not hold records by constituency.
	
		
			  2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 East midlands 13 19 25 29 32 
			 Eastern 19 34 11 39 32 
			 London 1 3 1 1 2 
			 North-east 73 47 12 21 27 
			 North-west 20 18 52 26 6 
			 Northern Ireland 72 41 79 65 32 
			 Scotland 271 525 234 189 264 
			 South-east 0 9 10 2 3 
			 South-west 27 22 25 5 11 
			 Wales 36 36 32 27 41 
			 West midlands 3 1 4 2 7 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 38 85 40 33 17 
		
	
	Data are for applications approved, from DECC's Renewable Energy Planning Database, as extracted on 30 October 2012, at:
	https://restats.decc.gov.uk/cms/planning-database/

Wind Power: Cumbria

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many onshore wind turbines were given consent in each parliamentary constituency in Cumbria in each of the last five years.

Gregory Barker: The following table shows the number of onshore wind turbines consented in Cumbria between 2007 and 2011. DECC does not hold records by constituency.
	
		
			 Cumbria 
			  Number 
			 2007 16 
			 2008 9 
			 2009 9 
			 2010 10 
			 2011 3 
		
	
	Data are for applications approved, from DECC's Renewable Energy Planning Database, as extracted on 30 October 2012, at:
	https://restats.decc.gov.uk/cms/planning-database/

PRIME MINISTER

Archbishop of Canterbury

Chris Bryant: To ask the Prime Minister what progress he has made with the appointment process for the next Archbishop of Canterbury; and when he expects an announcement about the appointment to be made.

David Cameron: An announcement will be made in due course.

Leveson Inquiry

Chris Bryant: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 25 October 2012, Official Report, column 998W, on Leveson Inquiry, what material the Leveson Inquiry asked him to provide.

David Cameron: I refer the hon. Member to paragraphs 3 and 4 of my witness statement provided to the Leveson Inquiry:
	http://www.levesoninquiry.org.uk/evidence/?witness=david-cameron-mp

Public Appointments

Luciana Berger: To ask the Prime Minister how many public appointments he has approved have been (a) male and (b) female since May 2010.

David Cameron: All public appointments diversity data is published annually by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. It can be found at:
	http://publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk/

Departmental Staff

Luciana Berger: To ask the Prime Minister what proportion of staff of Number 10 Downing Street are (a) male and (b) female.

Francis Maude: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The Prime Minister's Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office and is included in the figures for the Cabinet Office.
	Information on work force diversity in the Cabinet Office is available at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/content/public-sector-equality-duty

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Children: Chernobyl

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will consider the merits of rescinding the decision to charge for visas in respect of applications made for visitors under the auspices of the Children from Chernobyl scheme.

David Lidington: For more than 16 years, the Government have provided gratis visas to thousands of children to travel to the UK for respite care organised by the Chernobyl Children Charities. The costs of around £130,000 per year are currently charged to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). In line with a number of other difficult spending decisions, gratis visas will cease on 31 March 2013. We do not plan to reconsider this decision.
	The FCO informed the charities concerned of this decision in November 2010 to allow them time to seek alternative funding. The FCO has also offered assistance to the charities in identifying new funding sources. Additionally, as a goodwill gesture in this final year of gratis visas, we have offered to cover the cost of Chernobyl children visas obtained in Ukraine as well as Belarus, up to a ceiling of £200,000.

Dalai Lama

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice (a) he, (b) his Ministers and (c) his Department have issued to Ministers in other departments on meeting his Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Hugo Swire: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office provides advice to Ministers across Government whenever a foreign dignitary is visiting our country. Advice given to Ministers on meeting his Holiness the Dalai Lama reflected Her Majesty’s Government's position that we view the Dalai Lama as an important religious figure and the need for policy and handling to remain consistent across Government.

Israel

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to encourage Israel to (a) sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and (b) open its nuclear programme to international inspection.

Alistair Burt: The British Government support fully the universalisation of the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT). We have called on Israel and other non-signatories to join the NPT as non-nuclear weapons states. We have also called on them to agree a full scope Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In 2009 the IAEA concluded that nuclear material, facilities or other items to which safeguards were applied in Israel remained in use for peaceful activities. The UK accepts these conclusions. We have a regular dialogue with the Israeli Government on civil nuclear and counter proliferation issues.

Press: Subscriptions

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on newspapers, periodicals and trade publications in the last 12 months.

David Lidington: In 2011-12, total global spend recorded for Publications and Library and Information Services was £1.9 million, a 14% reduction on the cost of £2.2 million in 2010-11, a figure which I gave on 25 October 2011, Official Report, column 181W. These amounts cover spend across all the UK's 261 embassies and diplomatic posts overseas, as well as all the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Departments in London. The FCO has partly achieved savings by working with other Government Departments to obtain best value when purchasing these goods and services.

Public Appointments

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many appointments made to the boards of public bodies overseen by his Department have been (a) male and (b) female since May 2010.

Alistair Burt: The following tables show the numbers of appointments by gender made to the boards of public bodies overseen by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) since May 2010.
	
		
			 New appointments 
			 FCO Public Body Male Female Total 
			 British Council 6 2 8 
			 Westminster Foundation for Democracy 6 3 9 
			 Great Britain China Centre 4 1 5 
			 Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission 5 1 4 
		
	
	
		
			 Re-appointments 
			 FCO Public Body Male Female Total 
			 British Council 2 2 4 
			 Westminster Foundation for Democracy 1 2 3 
			 Great Britain China Centre 2 2 4 
			 Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission 4 I 5 
		
	
	It remains our goal that our workforce should fully represent the diversity of Britain today. Consequently, we and the organisations concerned are committed to working to increase the diversity of the various Boards and recruiting the most talented applicants from the widest possible range of backgrounds.

Departmental Staff

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of his Department's staff are (a) male and (b) female.

Alistair Burt: The proportion of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) as at October 2012 consists of 57% male and 43% female staff.
	These figures are for UK based staff only and do not include staff from our trading fund, FCO Services or locally engaged staff employed overseas.
	The FCO produces an annual Equality Report which can be accessed at:
	www.fco.gov.uk/en/publications-and-documents/publications1/annual-reports/equality-report

Trade Promotion

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 30 October 2012, Official Report, column 176W, on trade promotion, what the names are of the Scottish firms supported under the UK Trade and Investment tradeshow access programme; what the value was of the grant provided to each firm; and what the stated purpose of each grant was.

Hugo Swire: Tradeshow Access Programme (TAP) grants are offered to less experienced exporter small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to exhibit at overseas trade fairs where they have the opportunity to promote their products or services to overseas buyers. The funding goes primarily towards stand space and construction costs.
	Listed in the following table are those Scottish-based businesses who received TAP grants in financial year 2011-12 and the amount of grant they received. Grant levels range between £1,000 and £1,800 depending on agreed levels for individual exhibitions. Businesses can receive more than one grant in a financial year.
	
		
			 Tradeshow Access Programme (TAP)—Grants to Scottish-based businesses in 2011-12 
			 Business name Grant value (£) 
			 Access All Areas Distribution Ltd 1,000 
			 Aeropair Ltd 1,000 
			 Allenwest Wallacetown Limited 1,000 
			 Allenwest Wallacetown Limited 1,400 
			 Armadale Salmon Fishing 1,000 
			 AvantiCell Science Ltd 1,000 
			 Ayr Equestrian 1,000 
			 Barcelo Troon Marine Hotel 1,800 
			 BGS Productions Limited 1,400 
			 Big Baby Productions Ltd 1,400 
			 Big Baby Productions Ltd 1,400 
			 Bowtech Products Limited 1,400 
			 Caledonian Tree Co Ltd 1,000 
			 Caley Fisheries Ltd 1,000 
			 CAPDM Ltd 1,000 
			 Ceramco Ltd 1,000 
			 Classic Restorations (Scotland) Ltd 1,000 
			 Clock House Furniture Ltd 1,000 
			 Clock House Furniture Ltd 1,000 
			 Corporate Insignia Limited 1,400 
			 Craigielaw Golf Club 1,000 
			 DCH Wholesale 1,200 
			 DCH Wholesale 1,200 
			 Deans of Huntly Ltd 1,000 
			 Distrify Ltd 1,400 
			 DKL Metals Ltd 1,400 
			 Dryden Aqua Ltd 1,800 
			 Duncans of Deeside Ltd 1,000 
			 Earth Squared Ltd 1,400 
			 EdICT Training Ltd 1,000 
			 Edinburgh College of Art 1,000 
			 Edinburgh Napier University 1,400 
			 eeGeo 1,800 
			 Executive Golf & Leisure Limited 1,800 
			 Executive Golf & Leisure Limited 1,800 
			 Exterity Limited 1,800 
			 Findlay Irvine Ltd 1,000 
			 Firebrand Games Ltd 1,000 
			 Firemac Limited 1,800 
		
	
	
		
			 Forge Consulting Limited 1,000 
			 Fresh (FSM LLP) 1,000 
			 FTV Proclad International Ltd 1,000 
			 Gardiners Of Scotland 1,000 
			 Gareloch Support Services (Plant) Ltd 1,400 
			 Gilden Photonics Ltd 1,000 
			 Gilden Photonics Ltd 1,400 
			 Global Solutions (AIC) Ltd 1,000 
			 Golf Scotland 1,800 
			 Golf Tourism Scotland 1,800 
			 Grampian Growers Limited 1,400 
			 Gretna Green Group Ltd 1,000 
			 Halley Stevensons (Dyers & Finishers) Ltd 1,000 
			 Halley Stevensons (Dyers & Finishers) Ltd 1,000 
			 Hawick Knitwear Ltd 1,200 
			 Hebridean Smokehouse Ltd 1,000 
			 High Voltage Instruments Ltd 1,800 
			 Highland Experience Tours 1,000 
			 Highland Golf Links Ltd 1,800 
			 Holland & Sherry Ltd 1,800 
			 Hopscotch Brands Ltd 1,000 
			 HRH Geological 1,400 
			 Hunter Boot Limited 1,200 
			 Hunter Boot Limited 1,200 
			 HuzuTech Limited 1,400 
			 HuzuTech Limited 1,400 
			 Ilasco Ltd 1,000 
			 Integrated Environmental Solutions Ltd 1,000 
			 Intercaps Filling Systems Ltd 1,000 
			 ITF (Industry Technology Facilitator) 1,400 
			 Jean Moncrieff 1,400 
			 JK Thomson 1,000 
			 Joe Cool 1,000 
			 John McGavigan Ltd (ADS) 1,400 
			 Johnstone's Just Desserts Limited 1,000 
			 Kandie Imports 1,000 
			 KSM Superclean Ltd 1,400 
			 Lallemand UK Ltd 1,400 
			 Lamar Group Ltd 1,400 
			 Laser Support Services Ltd 1,000 
			 Lee's of Scotland 1,000 
			 Lindean Mill Glass Ltd 1,400 
			 Links Golf Tours St Andrews Limited 1,800 
			 Loch Duart Ltd 1,000 
			 Loch Fyne Oysters Ltd 1,800 
			 Lochcarron John Buchan Ltd 1,000 
			 Machine Vision Products 1,400 
			 Machine Vision Products 1,800 
			 Macleans Highland Bakery Ltd 1,000 
			 Macnaughton Holdings Limited 1,000 
			 Margot Steel Designs 1,000 
			 Meldrum House Estates Ltd 1,800 
			 Milbro Sports Ltd 1,000 
			 Moorbrook Textiles Limited t/a Robert Noble 1,000 
			 Morag Macpherson Textiles 1,000 
			 MW Encap Limited 1,800 
			 MW Encap Limited 1,800 
			 MYB Textiles Limited 1,400 
		
	
	
		
			 Mylnefield Research Services Ltd 1,400 
			 Nairns Oatcakes Ltd 1,000 
			 Nexus Oncology Ltd 1,000 
			 Niki Jones 1,000 
			 OEG Offshore Ltd 1,000 
			 Paradigm Flow Solutions 1,000 
			 Pickone 1,400 
			 Playfair Farms 1,800 
			 Professional Beauty Systems Ltd 1,400 
			 QCTR Limited 1,000 
			 Rabbie's Trail Burners Ltd 1,000 
			 Rainbow Technology Systems Ltd 1,400 
			 Red Island Ltd 1,000 
			 Reel Service Ltd 1,400 
			 Reid & Taylor 1,000 
			 Replin Fabrics 1,000 
			 Resistance Wires Ltd 1,000 
			 Retronix Ltd 1,800 
			 Retronix Semiconductor Limited 1,800 
			 RF Global Solutions Ltd 1,800 
			 Robert Cullen Ltd 1,400 
			 S &T Knitwear Manufacturing Ltd 1,200 
			 Safe Dreams Limited 1,000 
			 Samantha Holmes 1,000 
			 Samantha Holmes 1,000 
			 Savantech Limited 1,800 
			 Scienscope International 1,400 
			 Sekers Fabrics Ltd 1,400 
			 Semefab (Scotland) Limited 1,800 
			 Sensewhere Ltd 1,800 
			 Shortbread House of Edinburgh Limited 1,000 
			 Skea Organics Ltd 1,400 
			 Smart Safetech Ltd 1,000 
			 Smart Tech Ltd 1,000 
			 So You Media Ltd 1,400 
			 Solid Form Solutions Ltd 1,800 
			 Sports Labs Ltd 1,000 
			 St James Smokehouse (Scotland) Limited 1,000 
			 Stats (UK) Limited 1,000 
			 Steepest Ascent Ltd 1,800 
			 Stepper Technology Limited 1,800 
			 Stepper Technology Limited 1,800 
			 Studio Scotland Ltd 1,400 
			 TAG Games Ltd 1,000 
			 Task Geoscience Ltd 1,400 
			 Tayside Machinery Ltd 1,000 
			 Technocomm Ltd 1,800 
			 Teknek Europe Ltd 1,400 
			 Teknek Europe Ltd 1,400 
			 Tessuti 1,400 
			 Tessuti 1,400 
			 The Decal Company Ltd 1,400 
			 The Decal Company Ltd 1,400 
			 The Futurist Cinema Company Limited 1,400 
			 The House of Cheviot Ltd 1,000 
			 Tom Hannah (Agencies) Ltd 1,000 
			 Totseat Ltd 1,000 
			 Touch EMAS Ltd 1,000 
			 Usan Salmon Fisheries Ltd 1,000 
			 Visible Ink Television Ltd 1,800 
			 Voyage Decoration Ltd 1,400 
		
	
	
		
			 Waddler 1,200 
			 Waddler 1,200 
			 Wallace Cameron &. Company Limited 1,000 
			 Wemyss Weavcraft Ltd 1,400 
			 Word Maker Ltd 1,000 
			 Worldbeating Products 1,400 
			 X-Axys Ltd 1,000 
			 X-Axys Ltd 1,400 
			 X-Axys Ltd 1,400 
			 X-Axys Ltd 1,800 
			 Yestek Ltd 1,000 
			 Yestek Ltd 1,800 
			 Yieldmax Ltd 1,400 
			 Young SET Ambassadors Ltd 1,800

Trade Promotion

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 30 October 2012, Official Report, column 176W, on trade promotion, what the titles were of the reports commissioned on behalf of Scottish firms under the Overseas Market Introduction Service.

Hugo Swire: UK Trade & Investment's Overseas Market Introduction Service orders, including their titles, contain potentially commercially sensitive information which cannot be released without the authority of each commissioning UK company, contributor or named company or individual in each market. Answering the question fully would require obtaining the authority of over 300 UK companies or individuals and significantly more companies across a number of overseas markets and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Trade Promotion

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 30 October 2012, Official Report, column 176W, on trade promotion, how many firms were supported under UK Trade and Investment's market visit support programme in each of the last five years.

Hugo Swire: The figures given as follows for the last five years include both group market visits and solo visits.
	
		
			  Number 
			 2007-08 834 
			 2008-09 1,023 
			 2009-10 1,306 
			 2010-11 1,721 
			 2011-12 1,398

Trade Promotion

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 30 October 2012, Official Report, columns 176W, on trade promotion, what the names were of the Scottish companies that took part in Scottish missions under UK Trade and Investment's market visit support programme; and when each such visit took place.

Hugo Swire: 39 companies agreed to attend missions with UKTI's Market Visit Support (MVS) funding. Five of these companies ultimately did not undertake visits and did not receive MVS funding. The 34 companies who participated in the missions with MVS funds were:
	17-21 October 2011
	BeccaFlory
	Carbon Masters
	ClickNetherfield
	Eribé Knitwear Design
	High Voltage Instruments
	Omega Diagnostics Group plc
	Power of Youth
	World Club HQ
	28 November-2 December 2011
	Anniesland College
	BCF Technology Ltd
	City of Glasgow College
	Gentech International
	Global Solutions (AIC) Ltd
	Gordon & MacPhail
	Nautronix
	St Andrews Golf Experience Ltd
	Timorous Beasties
	7-13 December 2011
	Advocates Ltd
	Apex Sports International (Scotland) Ltd
	Anderson Strathern
	Ardaich Ltd
	Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh
	Falkirk Whisky Distillery Co. Ltd
	Gentech
	G7 Consultants
	Midland Electrical Winding & Contracting (Scotland) Ltd
	Original Skin Co.
	PFP
	5-10 January 2012
	Andy Scott Public Art
	Edutrain
	Key Facilities Management International Ltd
	Lightwaters
	Synergie Scotland
	User Vision

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Equality and Human Rights Commission

Tim Loughton: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what funding has been given to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) in each of the last five years; what studies the EHRC has produced; and if she will conduct a value for money assessment of such contributions.

Helen Grant: The following table shows the grant in aid from the sponsor department to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) in each of the last five years:
	
		
			  Grant in aid (£000) 
			 2006-08 50,851 
			 2008-09 59,264 
			 2009-10 55,049 
			 2010-11 50,774 
			 2011-12 35,975 
		
	
	This money was used to support a wide range of activities, including studies, which for the purpose of answering this question we have interpreted has as comprising the EHRC's research reports. Since its inception the EHRC has published 86 main research reports plus 35 other briefings and reviews. A list providing the title; author; and year of publication of each report has been placed in the House library.
	In May 2012 we announced in ‘Building a fairer Britain: Reform of the Equality and Human Rights Commission—Response to the consultation’ a comprehensive review of the EHRC's budget. This includes considering whether the EHRC's activities are delivering value for taxpayers' money.

TRANSPORT

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the DVLA Front Office Counter Services tender to be awarded; and what the reasons are for the time taken to award the tender.

Stephen Hammond: The DVLA is entering the final stages of its Front Office Counter Services procurement. It is expected that the contract award will be made before the end of November following assurance of the whole procurement process.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what provisions of the DVLA Front Office Counter Services contract will be non-exclusive.

Stephen Hammond: The entire Front Office Counter Services contract will be awarded on a non-exclusive basis.

Electric Vehicles

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many registered (a) electric vehicles and (b) hybrid vehicles there were in the UK in the latest period for which figures are available.

Stephen Hammond: The numbers of licensed electric and hybrid electric vehicles in Great Britain as at 30 June 2012 are shown in the following table. Statistics for the UK are not compiled centrally by the Department for Transport as the registration of cars in Northern Ireland is administered separately by the Northern Ireland Driver and Vehicle Agency.
	
		
			  (a) Electric vehicles (b) Hybrid vehicles(1) 
			 Vehicles licensed in Great Britain, as at 30 June 2012 71,830 114,904 
			 (1) Hybrid vehicles consist of petrol electric hybrids and diesel electric hybrids. Source: “Vehicle Licensing Statistics, Great Britain: Quarter 2 2012” (DFT). These statistics are derived from the DVLA vehicle register, an operational database used to handle the licensing of vehicles registered in Great Britain.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which potential construction sites his Department is considering in respect of High Speed 2 that are within Chesham and Amersham constituency.

Patrick McLoughlin: No final decisions will be taken about the exact placement of construction sites along the route before we have properly considered the views of local consultees. Any new information will be shared as soon as possible with local communities through the HS2 Community Forums.
	On 25 October we published a consultation on safeguarding, including draft maps setting out the land that HS2 Ltd currently expect will be needed to operate and construct the railway, including potential construction sites. These maps are available at the following address:
	http://highspeedrail.dft.gov.uk/consultations-0

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the written ministerial statements of 17 July 2012, OfficialReport, columns 139-40WS, and 18 September 2012, Official Report, columns 44-5WS, on High Speed 2, what assessment he has made of the suitability of the involvement of Dialogue for Design in his Department's consultation on compensation for those affected by High Speed 2.

Patrick McLoughlin: The property and compensation consultation response analysis contract was awarded to Dialogue by Design in March this year following a competitive tender process and we are satisfied they can deliver the response analysis for this consultation in a way that is thorough and robust. We have also updated our systems and processes to minimise the risk of such errors reoccurring.

London Midland: Franchises

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he has taken to ensure that the timetables and standards of service specified in the London Midland franchise are kept to.

Norman Baker: London Midland has been provided with no relief from its obligation to run a full timetable as a result of its current shortage of driving staff and is fully aware that appropriate action will be taken if and when benchmarks are breached. My officials are in daily contact with London Midland management, and I have spoken with London Midland's Managing Director to ensure that the operator is taking all appropriate steps to resume full service operation as soon as possible.

London Midland: Franchises

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he has taken to enforce penalties against Govia for poor performance in the running of the London Midland franchise.

Norman Baker: As at today's date, London Midland is not yet in breach of the contractual cancellations benchmarks set out in its Franchise Agreement, performance against which is calculated as a rolling annual average. If and when these benchmarks are breached, the Department has a range of potential enforcement measures available, and will take appropriate and proportionate action.

London Midland: Franchises

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the performance standard achieved by Govia, if he will consider ending the London Midland franchise at the initial expiry date.

Norman Baker: We retain the option to end the London Midland franchise at the Initial Expiry Date. This decision will be based on a range of factors.
	As specified in the Franchise Agreement, the Department will exercise discretion as to whether to allow the franchise to continue to the later Expiry Date. We will take current performance and LM's resolution of the current problems into account in doing so.

National Air Traffic Services

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to require National Air Traffic Services to sell its unused former training college at Hurn Airport; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McLoughlin: National Air Traffic Services was part-privatised in 2001. A proposal to sell any of its significant assets would be a matter for the NATS Board to consider in the first instance, in accordance with its governance arrangements.

Public Appointments

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many appointments made to the boards of public bodies overseen by his Department have been (a) male and (b) female since May 2010.

Norman Baker: The number of appointments made to the boards, of public bodies overseen by the Department for Transport split by male and female since May 2010 are:
	25 Male and 5 Female new appointments.

Staff

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent on (a) recruitment agency fees, (b) outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff and (c) staff training in each of the last 12 months.

Norman Baker: The Department was formed in 2002 and is made up of a Central Department DfT(C) and six Executive Agencies as follows:
	Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)
	Highways Agency (HA)
	Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA)
	Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA)
	Driving Standards Agency (DSA)
	Vehicle & Operator Services Agency (VOSA)
	This response includes both the Central Department and the Executive Agencies.
	(a) Recruitment agency fees
	DfT does not hold figures for monthly spend as recruitment agency fees are paid in total and not on a monthly basis. Our accounting systems report that the total departmental spend for the relevant period was £120,149.68. By comparison, total Departmental spend for the 2009-10 financial year was £6,128,339.
	(b) Outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff
	DfT has spent no money on outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff in the last 12 months. Displaced or redundant staff are now supported by the Civil Service Transition Centre.
	(c) Staff training
	The reported spend on training for the department was:
	
		
			  £ 
			 October 11 272,760 
			 November 11 519,735 
			 December 11 343,954 
			 January 12 345,946 
			 February 12 430,765 
			 March 12 893,674 
			 April 12 128,555 
			 May 12 306,203 
			 June 12 171,296 
			 July 12 447,110 
			 August 12 426,899 
			 September 12 444,096 
			 Total 4,730,993 
		
	
	By comparison, total Departmental spend for the 2009-10 financial year was £12,558,897.

Staff

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of his Department's staff are (a) male and (b) female.

Norman Baker: In the Department for Transport, including its six executive agencies, 57.7% of permanent staff are male and 42.3% female.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Birds of Prey

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will consider introducing an offence of vicarious liability relating to birds of prey persecution for the purpose of making managers and employers legally responsible for the acts of their workers.

Richard Benyon: We are aware the Scottish Government introduced vicarious liability for certain offences by an employee or agent through the Wildlife and Natural Environment Act (Scotland) 2011. While there are no plans to introduce similar vicarious liability offences in England, we will be looking closely at how the new offences in Scotland work in practice and will consider this when shaping our future wildlife crime policy. It is important that such measures are able to deliver a real improvement in the enforcement of wildlife offences and as yet it is not possible to assess whether the recent amendments in Scotland will do this.

Public Appointments

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many appointments made to the boards of public bodies overseen by his Department have been (a) male and (b) female since May 2010.

Richard Benyon: Since May 2010 DEFRA has made a total of 140 appointments to its public bodies, which includes both new appointments and reappointments. The gender breakdown for these is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Male Female 
			 New appointments 74 28 
			 Reappointments 26 12

Recycling

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what further incentives the Government plans to put in place to encourage domestic recycling and reprocessing.

Richard Benyon: In the Budget 2012, the Government announced increases in packaging recycling targets up to 2017 under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations. This will provide a direct financial incentive to UK recyclers and reprocessors to recycle more packaging waste.
	Furthermore, the Government are reviewing the UK's producer responsibility regulations to reduce the burdens they place on businesses, including UK recyclers and reprocessors. The review will also consider claims that the regulations incentivise the export of packaging waste for reprocessing overseas over domestic reprocessing.
	The Government are also investing directly in UK recycling infrastructure through interventions such as the waste and resource action programme (WRAP)'s mixed plastics loan fund. The Green Investment Bank has also commenced commercial lending and has identified waste processing and recycling as a priority sector with 80% of funds committed to this and other priority sectors.

Waste: Exports

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the volumes of (a) municipal and (b) commercial and industrial waste exported illegally from the UK in each of the last three years.

Richard Benyon: The very nature of illegal waste exports means that those involved in this activity seek to avoid detection, and this makes it difficult to provide an accurate assessment of the volume illegally exported from the UK.
	The Environment Agency (England and Wales), the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency have adopted an intelligence-led approach to identify and disrupt the movement, of waste intended for illegal export. So far, it has not been possible for the three agencies to estimate the total quantities that may be involved in this illegal trade, although work is under way to explore the possibility of providing estimates of the scale of the problem.

Waste: Exports

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to prevent the illegal export of hazardous waste from the UK to developing and other countries.

Richard Benyon: The Government are committed to cracking down on illegal waste exports. The UK is a party to the Basel convention on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous waste and its disposal, the only global legal instrument on this issue. The convention is implemented in the EU through the waste shipments regulation, which is supplemented in the UK by the Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations 2007. Under these regulations, it is a serious criminal offence to export hazardous waste illegally, with the possibility of significant penalties for those convicted.
	Tackling the illegal export of hazardous waste is a key feature of the work done by numerous EU and international bodies, such as the European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law, Interpol, Europol and the United Nations Environment programme.
	The UK competent authorities (the Environment Agency for England and Wales, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency) carry out joint intelligence-led inspections and investigations, enabling cross-border multi-agency sharing of intelligence, techniques and skills. The agencies also work actively to improve business awareness of the controls which apply to the export of waste. Their work has led to them stopping a number of illegal shipments, and taking enforcement action against offenders.
	As stated in the Government's 2011 Review of Waste Policy in England, we are committed to assisting with the provision of a necessary legal gateway to enable the sharing of information between UK customs and the environment agencies.

HEALTH

Cancer

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many employees of cancer networks funded by his Department have been made redundant since January 2012.

Anna Soubry: This information is not held centrally. Staffing levels for cancer networks are a matter for local national health service organisations.

Cancer

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the role of cancer networks in supporting improvements in patient experience and patient safety in the NHS.

Anna Soubry: Cancer networks have had a crucial role in supporting improvements in patient experience and patient safety for cancer patients. In particular, they have worked to implement the ‘improving outcomes’ guidance produced by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence and driven up service quality through cancer peer review.
	Cancer networks have worked with the National Cancer Action Team to use the results of the 2010-11 Cancer Patient Experience survey to drive improvements in patient care. This work is continuing using the results of the 2011-12 survey, published on 17 August of this year.
	On 31 July, the National Health Service Commissioning Board (NHS CB) published ‘The Way Forward: Strategic Clinical Networks’. In the report, the NHS CB makes its recommendations for the future of clinical networks, including cancer networks, in the new NHS. The report set out that improvements to patient experience and patient safety underpin all NHS care and will be similarly embedded in the work of all strategic clinical networks.

Cancer

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the results of the 2011-12 National Cancer Patient Experience Survey will be used to improve cancer outcomes at (a) trust and (b) national level.

Anna Soubry: We have made both national and trust level reports of the Cancer Patient Experience Survey 2011-12 widely available to inform and drive local service improvement. The reports provide a breakdown of the experience of cancer patients across a number of stages in the cancer care pathway and include analysis of improvement levels since the 2010 survey. The trust level reports provide benchmarked data nationally and between teams so that priority improvement areas can be identified.
	The National Cancer Action Team has worked with cancer networks over the last year to use the results of the 2010 survey to drive service improvements and will continue this work using the results of the 2011-12 survey. We are also encouraging stakeholders in the third sector to use the survey results to identify and share best practice in patient care and services to support service improvement activity.
	All the quantitative data will be sent to the National Data Archive at Essex university and will be made freely available to researchers wishing to undertake further analyses.

Dietary Supplements: EU Law

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent discussions the Government has had with the European Commission on the setting of maximum permitted levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements through European Union Directive 2002/46/EC on food supplements;
	(2)  whether the European Commission has indicated whether discussions on the setting of maximum permitted levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements are likely to resume;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the potential effect on consumer choice of implementation of the European Commission's proposals for maximum permitted levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements through the Food Supplements Directive;
	(4)  what steps the Government plans to take at EU level to ensure that existing levels of access in the UK to safe, high potency vitamins and minerals are retained.

Anna Soubry: European Union directive 2002/46/EC on food supplements, provides for the future establishment of maximum permitted levels for vitamins and minerals used in these foods. The Government consider that any future discussions need to ensure that the legislation is proportionate and based on evidence, so that consumers have confidence in what they buy, while maintaining a wide choice of safe products.
	There have not been any recent discussions on this issue and the European Commission has given no indication of when negotiations will continue on the drafting of rules in this area.
	As discussions progress, an impact assessment will continue to be further developed and the final outcome on consumer choice will be assessed when it is known which maximum permitted levels will be applicable.

Food: Labelling

Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received from the cheese and dairy industries about his proposed reforms to food labelling.

Anna Soubry: There were 191 full responses to this year's consultation on Front of Pack Nutrition Labelling, which ran from 14 May until 6 August. Of these, eight responses were from the dairy and cheese industry. The formal response to the consultation is due to be published shortly.
	Ministers and officials will continue to engage with representatives from the food industry and other interested parties on the detail, of future United Kingdom front of pack nutritional labelling.

General Practitioners

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what way the NHS Commissioning Board plans to hold clinical commissioning groups to account for their performance against the Commissioning Outcomes Framework.

Anna Soubry: It is for the NHS Commissioning Board to make decisions on how it will hold clinical commissioning groups to account for their performance and they will be publishing details in due course.

General Practitioners

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will consider implementing a mandatory data collection process at the point of GP registration.

Daniel Poulter: The standard national health service form by which people apply to register as patients at a general practitioner (GP) practice already asks for the following information:
	Title
	Surname
	First names
	Previous surname/s
	NHS number
	Gender
	Town and country of birth
	Home address
	Postcode
	Telephone number
	To help trace medical records:
	Previous UK address
	Previous GP practice name
	Previous GP practice address
	For a person from abroad:
	First UK address where registered with a GP practice, if previously resident
	Where previously resident in the UK, date of leaving
	Date first came to live in the UK
	For a person returning from the armed forces:
	Address before enlisting
	Service or personnel number
	Enlistment date

Health Services

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when his Department plans to publish the single operating model on clinical networks.

Anna Soubry: We understand that the NHS Commissioning Board intends to publish the single operating framework for strategic clinical networks during the week beginning 12 November.

Hospitals: Waste

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the volume of (a) total hospital waste and (b) hazardous hospital waste generated in England and Wales in the last year for which figures are available.

Daniel Poulter: The information is not available in the format requested because the Department does not hold data on the volume of hazardous waste generated by the national health service.
	However, the Department does collect data on the volume of waste generated annually by the NHS in England relating to its method of disposal. These data are collected annually through the Estates Returns Information Collection which collects the total volume of waste disposed of by either high temperature, non-burn treatment or landfill methods by each NHS organisation in England. Information is not collected for Wales.
	The latest information available relates to 2011-12 and is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Waste disposal method Total waste weight reported by NHS organisations in England 2011-12 (tonnes) 
			 High temperature 81,117 
			 Non-burn treatment 67,757 
		
	
	
		
			 Landfill 130,077 
		
	
	The information provided has been supplied by the NHS and has not been amended centrally. The accuracy and completeness of the information is the responsibility of the providing organisation.

Hospitals: Waste

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the ways in which waste generated in hospital is (a) recycled, (b) used to produce energy from waste and (c) incinerated.

Daniel Poulter: The information is not available as the Department does not hold data on the ways in which waste generated in hospital is recycled, used to produce energy from waste and incinerated.
	The Department has produced voluntary guidance for healthcare providers on managing their waste generated within a healthcare environment “Safe Management of Healthcare Waste Version: 2.0 England”. A copy has been placed in the Library.
	The guidance has taken into account changes in legislation governing the management of waste, its storage, carriage, treatment and disposal; and also health and safety.
	Within the guidance, the document identifies appropriate waste segregation and disposal routes which are interpreted locally by each healthcare provider, who then undertake assessments to formulate their own policies and procedures for recycling, incineration or waste that is sent to produce energy.

NHS County Durham and Darlington

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the projected financial balance is of Durham and Darlington Primary Care Trust at the point of transition to clinical commissioning groups.

Daniel Poulter: In quarter one of 2012-13, County Durham primary care trust (PCT) is forecasting a surplus of £1 million and Darlington PCT is forecasting a surplus of £0.3 million at the point of transition to clinical commissioning groups.

NHS: Expenditure

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much was spent on nationally commissioned NHS services (a) at each hospital trust and (b) for each medical specialty for (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2010-11, (iii) 2009-10, (iv) 2008-09, (v) 2007-08, (vi) 2006-07, (vii) 2005-06 and (viii) 2004-05;
	(2)  how much has been spent on nationally commissioned NHS services (a) at each hospital trust and (b) for each medical specialty in 2012-13 to date.

Anna Soubry: This information is not held by the Department.
	The National Specialised Commissioning Team (NSCT), which is part of NHS London, undertakes the commissioning of highly specialised services at a national level for people with very rare conditions. The NSCT has been able to supply data on three of the years requested in the form of the specialised service commissioned, the NHS provider and the amount of funding. Information by specialty is not collected. A copy of the information supplied by the NSCT has been placed in the Library.
	Further information will be provided by the NSCT and will be placed in the Library at the earliest opportunity.

Public Appointments

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many appointments made to the boards of public bodies overseen by his Department have been (a) male and (b) female since May 2010.

Daniel Poulter: From 1 May 2010 to 31 October 2012, 353 non-executive appointments were made to the boards of national public bodies sponsored by the Department. According to the Department's records the gender split was:
	Male—171
	Female—106
	Information not provided by candidates on application form—76

Radiotherapy

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on funding proton beam radiotherapy.

Anna Soubry: Since 2008, patients with certain cancers where proton beam therapy (PBT) is considered the appropriate radiotherapy have been sent overseas for treatment. A PBT Clinical Reference Panel, established by the National Commissioning Group, advises on suitable cases for this treatment.
	In October 2010, the Government announced they would increase funding for the Overseas Programme over the spending review period so that all high priority patients with a need for PBT get access, treating up to 400 patients per year by 2014-15.
	In April 2012, the Government announced that the Department had set aside up to £250 million of public capital to be invested by the national health service in building PBT facilities at the Christie Hospital in Manchester and University College London Hospital. We estimate that for the same money we will be spending in 2014-15 to send 400 high priority patients abroad for PBT we will be able to treat up to 1,200 English patients when services, are ready in this country. The new national service is due to start treating patients from the end of 2017 and we anticipate that up to 1,500 patients every year could benefit from PBT.
	On 12 October, we published the “National Proton Beam Therapy Service Development Programme Strategic Outline Case”. This outlines the clinical evidence base for the development of the service and the overall investment objectives of the PBT programme. A copy of the guidance has already been placed in the Library.

Royal Lancaster Infirmary

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has had discussions with the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay Health Trust on the proposed closure of the vascular services unit at Royal Lancaster Infirmary; and on what dates and with whom any such discussions were held.

Anna Soubry: There have been no discussions between the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), or other Ministers with the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust about the future of the vascular services unit at Royal Lancaster Infirmary.
	Decisions about local national health service services are a matter for the local NHS. Vascular services are being reviewed locally across England in response to robust evidence, which shows that better patient outcomes are achieved when complex procedures, such as vascular surgery, are provided by units which treat higher volumes of patients.

Departmental Staff

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of his Department's staff are (a) male and (b) female.

Daniel Poulter: As at 31 March 2012 the proportion of civil servants in the Department by gender is that 57% are female and 43% are male.
	These figures were published recently at:
	www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-279335

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Housing: Construction

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to revise guidance to the Planning Inspectorate to consider consents for planning permission rather than completions when considering housing provision in a local plan.

Nicholas Boles: The National Planning Policy Framework sets out the Government's policies on the supply of housing. Local planning authorities should use their evidence base to ensure their Local Plan meets the full, objectively assessed needs for housing. They should also identify a supply of specific “deliverable” sites sufficient to provide five years worth of housing against their requirements. The Framework makes clear that sites with planning permission should be considered “deliverable” until permission expires, unless there is clear evidence that schemes will not be implemented.

Licensed Premises: Planning Permission

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of licensed premises given planning permission for conversion into (a) retail use, (b) residential use and (c) other use in each of the last five years.

Nicholas Boles: No estimate has been made of the number of licensed premises given planning permission for conversion into other uses in the last five years.

Local Government

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the publication of Lord Heseltine's report on growth, what plans he has to review the case for the creation of further unitary authorities in England.

Brandon Lewis: One of the first acts of the coalition Government was to legislate to scrap the last Administration's plans for top-down unitary local government restructuring, through the Local Government Act 2010. Such top-down upheavals would have been expensive and disruptive, distracting from the need to promote growth and to tackle the deficit left by the last Administration. This stance is, and remains, Government policy.
	Lord Heseltine rightly identifies the need for greater collaboration in local government, especially to promote enterprise and growth and take forward the good work of Local Enterprise Partnerships.
	There is great potential for more locally-led joint working and sharing of services in local government: for example, in two-tier areas, with the pooling of locally retained business rates; between similar types of council, such as the London Tri-Borough Initiative; and between different local public services, as being taken forward in Community Budgets.

Planning

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what criteria he will use to determine which local authorities to place under special measures for planning purposes.

Nicholas Boles: The Government intend to consult on its preferred approach to implementing this measure shortly.

Planning

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the financial effects of the foregone planning fee income on local authorities that are designated under Clause 1 of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill.

Nicholas Boles: holding answer 1 November 2012
	The Government intend to consult on its preferred approach to implementing this measure shortly, which will include consideration of its potential effects and benefits.

Public Appointments

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many appointments made to the boards of public bodies overseen by his Department have been (a) male and (b) female since May 2010.

Brandon Lewis: Out of a total of 22 new appointments made to the boards of public bodies overseen by my Department since May 2010, 15 were male and seven were female.
	This compares with 27 male appointments and 10 female appointments in 2008-09, and 23 male appointments and eight female appointments in 2009-10.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Apprentices: Cumbria

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeship starts in each (a) industry type and (b) age group there were in (i) Barrow and Furness constituency and (ii) Cumbria in each of the last five years.

Matthew Hancock: I will place in the Libraries of the House data that show the number of apprenticeship programme starts in Barrow and Furness parliamentary constituency and Cumbria local education authority by sector subject area and age. Final data are shown for the 2007/08 to 2010/11 academic years and provisional data are shown for the 2011/12 academic year.
	Provisional data for the 2011/12 academic year provide an early view of performance and will change as further data returns are received from further education colleges and providers. They should not be directly compared with final year data from previous years. Figures for 2011/12 will be finalised in January 2013.
	Apprenticeship data are not available by industry. Within an industry, a learner may undertake a wide range of apprenticeship frameworks.
	Information on the number of apprenticeship starts by geography is published in a supplementary table to a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 11 October 2012:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirst release/sfr_current
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirst release/sfr_supplementary_tables/Apprenticeship_sfr_ supplementary_tables/

Apprentices: Hampshire

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what the number of 18 to 24 year old apprenticeship starts was in (a) Hampshire and (b) Southampton in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what the comparable figures were in each of the previous five years;
	(2)  what the number of 16 to 18 year old apprenticeship starts was in (a) Hampshire and (b) Southampton in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what the comparable figures were in each of the previous five years.

Matthew Hancock: Table 1 shows the number of Apprenticeship programme starts in Hampshire and Southampton local education authorities by age. Final data are shown for the 2006/07 to 2010/11 academic years and provisional data are shown for the 2011/12 academic year.
	Provisional data for the 2011/12 academic year provide an early view of performance and will change as further data returns are received from further education colleges and providers. They should not be directly compared with final year data from previous years. Figures for 2011/12 will be finalised in January 2013.
	
		
			 Table 1: Apprenticeship Programme Starts in Hampshire and Southampton local education authorities by age, 2006/07 to 2011/12 (Provisional) 
			  Final  
			 Local education authority Age 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 (Provisional) 
			 Hampshire Under 19 2,820 2,970 2,720 3,020 2,860 2,960 
			  19-24 2,600 3,300 3,390 4,470 4,230 4,780 
			  25+ * 570 1,690 1,560 4,140 4,940 
			  All age 5,420 6,840 7,800 9,050 11,230 12,680 
			         
			 Southampton Under 19 470 370 310 460 450 420 
			  19-24 350 360 340 420 630 610 
			  25+ * 110 220 170 780 930 
			  All age 820 840 860 1,050 1,850 1,960 
			 “*? Indicates a base value of less than 5. Notes: 1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Age is based on age at the start of the programme. 3. Geographic breakdowns are based upon the home postcode of the learner. 4. Figures are based on the geographic boundaries as of May 2010. 5. Provisional data for 2011/12 should not be directly compared with data for earlier years. Source: Individualised Learner Record 
		
	
	Information on the number of Apprenticeship starts by Geography is published in a supplementary table to a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 11 October 2012:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirst release/sfr_current
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statistical firstrelease/sfr_supplementary_tables/Apprenticeship_sfr_supplementary_tables/

Apprentices: Kent

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent estimate he has made of the number of apprentices in (a) Gillingham and Rainham constituency and (b) Medway.

Matthew Hancock: Table 1 shows the number of apprenticeship programme starts in Gillingham and Rainham parliamentary constituency and Medway local education authority in the 2011/12 academic year (August 2011 to July 2012).
	Provisional data for the 2011/12 academic year provide an early view of performance and will change as further data returns are received from further education colleges and providers. They should not be directly compared with final year data from previous years. Figures for 2011/12 will be finalised in January 2013.
	
		
			 Table 1: Apprenticeship programme starts in Gillingham and Rainham constituency and Medway local education authority, 2011/12 (provisional) 
			 2011/12 Number (provisional) 
			 Gillingham and Rainham constituency 770 
			 Medway local education authority 2,620 
			 Notes: 1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Geographic breakdowns are based upon the home postcode of the learner. 3. Figures are based on the geographic boundaries as of May 2010. Source: Individualised Learner Record 
		
	
	Information on the number of apprenticeship starts by geography is published in a supplementary table to a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 11 October 2012:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirst release/sfr_current
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirst release/sfr_supplementary_tables/Apprenticeship_sfr_supplementary_tables/

Business: Billing

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many new signatories to the Prompt Payment Code there have been during this year to date.

Michael Fallon: The Prompt Payment code website at:
	www.promptpaymentcode.org.uk
	includes details of all signatories, and the date of their application.
	As of 2 November 2011, the code lists 1,187 firms, including 129 who have applied in 2012. Earlier this month I wrote to the chief executives of all FTSE 350 companies, to ensure they were aware of the code and to encourage them to sign it.

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  whether he has made an estimate of additional costs that might be incurred by businesses as a result of his proposed changes to section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988;
	(2)  whether he has made an assessment of the likely effects of his proposed repeal of section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 on firms producing furniture replicas;
	(3)  what factors he plans to take into account when deciding what length of transitional period should be granted to businesses affected by his proposed repeal of section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Jo Swinson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave him on 11 September 2012, Official Report, columns 210-11W.

Enterprise Capital Funds

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many firms benefited from investments under Enterprise Capital Funds in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13 to date.

Michael Fallon: The number of companies benefiting from new investment by Enterprise Capital Funds was 15 in 2010/11, 45 in 2011/12 and 14 in 2012/13 to 30 September. Enterprise Capital Funds also make follow-on investments in companies already in their portfolios. From 2010/11 onwards there have been more than 280 new and follow-on investments in companies.
	Since the programme started in 2006, £155.6 million has been invested by funds, of which £83 million has been invested since May 2010.

Financial Services: Regulation

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the cost to organisations in the UK of compliance with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Greg Clark: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (DFA) was signed into US law in July 2010. However, US regulators are still determining how the new laws will work in practice. Given the uncertainty surrounding the practical implementation of the Act—including, for instance, the breadth of regulations and exemptions—there are significant challenges in determining the range of costs (including economic, fiscal and administrative costs) to organisations in the UK of compliance with the DFA.
	The Government, alongside other country governments, are taking forward a dialogue with the US authorities in bilateral and multilateral meetings on the DFA with reference to the potential impact and costs on UK organisations and the UK economy.

Foresight Programme

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many staff have been assigned to the (a) entire Foresight programme and (b) Foresight Horizon Scanning Centre in each of the last five years for which data are available.

David Willetts: The numbers of full-time equivalents assigned to the Foresight programme and working in the Horizon Scanning Centre over the past five years were:
	
		
			  Total staff in Foresight Staff in the Horizon Scanning Centre 
			 2007/08 29 6 
			 2008/09 29 6 
			 2009/10 34 7 
			 2010/11 31 7 
			 2011/12 30 2.5

Foresight Programme

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the budget of the Foresight programme was for each of the last five years for which data are available; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: Over the past five years the spend on the Foresight programme was as follows:
	
		
			 £ 
			  Admin spend Programme spend Total spend 
			 2007/08 1,494,330 2,995,228 4,489,558 
			 2008/09 1,542,486 2,809,914 4,352,400 
			 2009/10 1,719,878 2,914,955 4,634,833 
			 2010/11 1,385,393 2,288,422 3,673,815 
			 2011/12 1,328,835 2,272,743 3,601,578 
		
	
	The reduction in spend over the last two years was the effect of the restructuring, which all Government Departments underwent during this period. However, the initial allocation of programme spend at the beginning of this financial year has been maintained at £2.8 million, which has continued into the current financial year 2012/13.

Insolvency Service

James Wharton: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which locations and buildings within the north-east and Teesside areas (a) his Department and (b) the Insolvency Service are considering as future locations for Insolvency Service offices in the north-east; and what the potential associated costs are for each site.

Jo Swinson: The Insolvency Service has looked at a number of locations in the north-east and Teesside areas including Newcastle, Stockton and the surrounding area, and Durham. The service has discounted vacant Government office space in the following locations as they do not meet our requirements for space: Alnwick, Bishop Auckland, Blaydon, Houghton Le Spring, Hebburn, and Hartlepool.
	Where we consider a site might be suitable, we are examining the potential costs which are more wide ranging than the potential property costs and include staff costs for travel, relocation and possible redundancy, as well as infrastructure costs such as ICT network costs. We are yet to complete a full analysis of costs for the remaining locations and therefore are not in a position to provide detailed analysis of these costs for scrutiny.
	The service is looking to make a decision in December and any final decision will take into account a comparison of all the associated whole life costs as well as other non-financial factors such as customer access to services.

Manufacturing Advisory Service

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the total cost to the public purse has been of the Manufacturing Advisory Service since its launch in January 2012.

Michael Fallon: The amount of public resource invested in the Manufacturing Advisory Service since its launch in January 2012 is £15,836,341 to date (1 November 2012).
	The Government launched a new Manufacturing Advisory Service in January 2012, replacing a number of separate offerings with a single service. Up to November 2012 the contract to deliver the new service has cost £15.8 million (to 1 November 2012).

New Businesses: Government Assistance

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assistance his Department is providing for those wanting to start their own business.

Michael Fallon: We want to make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a business, and for the next decade to be the most entrepreneurial and dynamic in Britain's history. That is why, in January, the Prime Minister launched “Business in You”, a major campaign to inspire people to realise their business ambitions and to highlight the range of support available for start-ups and growing businesses.
	We have introduced a range of measures that support start-ups and growing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the UK:
	Ensuring SMEs can access the support and advice they need to start and grow
	We have changed the way that we help people access the information, guidance and advice they need to start and grow a business. We have put in place a range of services including:
	www.gov.uk, the new home for Government services and information online, www.gov.uk has been built to make it simpler and faster for people to find what they need from Government. To help those that cannot use internet services, we will continue to offer support through the Business Link helpline (on 0845 6009006).
	A mentoring portal www.mentorsme.co.uk providing an easy route to find experienced business mentors.
	A new three year “GrowthAccelerator” programme which will provide high quality coaching support for up to 26,000 small businesses with high growth potential.
	Ensuring SMEs can access the finance they need
	In September, we announced a new Government-backed business bank, including new Government funding of £1 billion. It will aim to attract private sector funding so that when fully operational, it could support up to £10 billion of new and additional business lending. More detail on the design of the bank and the types of interventions it will support will be provided later in the autumn.
	In July, the Government and Bank of England launched the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS), which allows banks and building societies to borrow at cheaper rates from the Bank of England for periods of up to four years. The FLS creates strong incentives for banks to increase lending to UK households and businesses by lowering interest rates and increasing access to credit.
	In May we launched a new £10 million Start-Up Loan Scheme aimed at 18 to 24-year-olds.
	We have increased the funds available to invest through the Business Finance Partnership (BFP) to £1.2 billion. Government will allocate £100 million of the BFP to invest through non-traditional lending channels that can reach smaller businesses.
	The Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) scheme will continue until 2014/15, providing, subject to demand, over £2 billion of additional lending.
	We have established a £50 million Business Angel Co-Investment Fund to encourage Business Angel investment.
	We are increasing our commitment to our Enterprise Capital Funds programme by £200 million, providing for more than £300 million of venture capital investment to address the equity gap for early stage innovative SMEs.
	Encouraging Entrepreneurship
	Unemployed people who want to start a business can apply for the new enterprise allowance (NEA), administered by the Department for Work and Pensions, which is available to people aged 18 and over who have been claiming jobseeker's allowance for more than three months. It provides access to business mentoring from 13 weeks and offers financial support of around £2,000 from 26 weeks. By 2013 it is hoped that the NEA will have helped up to 40, 000 unemployed people start up a business.
	Be the Boss is a £5 million scheme, administered by the Royal British Legion, to help ex-service personnel to set up and grow businesses by reducing the costs and barriers associated with self-employment and start-ups, including mentoring support.
	The Prime Minister has appointed Lord Young of Graffham to advise on small business and enterprise issues. A key message of Lord Young's work is that this is a great time to start a business, with record numbers of people becoming their own boss, supported by a wide range of help and encouragement to entrepreneurs from ail ages and backgrounds.

New Businesses: Young People

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 18 September 2012, Official Report, column 633W, on new businesses: young people, in which regions the 24 vacant Government spaces identified under the Start Up Spaces scheme are.

Michael Fallon: The 24 vacant Government spaces identified under the Incubators Initiative are located in the following towns and cities—Bedford, Berkeley, Beverley, Birmingham, Blackpool, Bolton, Bristol, Colchester, Crewe, East Kilbride, Fareham, Gateshead, Leeds, London Nottingham, Northampton, Oxford, Peterborough, Rugby, Runcorn, Waterlooville.

New Businesses: Young People

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 18 September 2012, Official Report, column 633W, on new businesses: young people, by what date he expects firms to be able to access premises under the Start Up Spaces scheme; and what benchmarks his Department has set for that process.

Michael Fallon: Officials in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Government Property Unit have concluded the assessment of bids from potential providers to manage the space within this initiative, and are preparing for contract negotiations with preferred bidders. Issues such as the date by which firms will be able to access premises under the scheme are dependent on the mutually satisfactory conclusion of those negotiations. The work continues to be commercially sensitive and I can not provide more detailed information at this stage.

Regional Growth Fund: Worcestershire

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which businesses in Worcestershire were awarded conditional allocations in Rounds 1 and 2 of the Regional Growth Fund; and how many jobs were (a) saved and (b) created in Worcestershire as a result of those allocations.

Michael Fallon: Three beneficiaries in Worcestershire have been awarded conditional Regional Growth Fund (RGF) allocations in Rounds 1 and 2.
	The applicants state that in total the three projects will create and safeguard 7,632 jobs over the next 10 years. Based on the levels of private investment we expect a further 279 jobs to be created as a result of the RGF intervention. Applicants estimate that 85% of these jobs will be created and 15% safeguarded.
	We will monitor the forecast employment and investment once the contracts are finalised.

Vocational Training

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many mentors are available through the Government's mentoring portal.

Michael Fallon: As at 30 September 2012, there are 22,166 mentors currently accessible through
	www.mentorsme.co.uk
	The website provides a single point of access for those seeking mentoring and those seeking to be mentors across the UK and connects small businesses with mentoring organisations that can support and guide their development.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Broadband

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what the expected standard cost is of adding a house to a next generation access service in the BDUK framework.

Edward Vaizey: The cost of providing next generation access broadband services to additional premises will depend on local circumstances, it is therefore not possible to provide a standard cost.

Broadband

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if she will ensure independent assessment of suppliers' cost estimates inputting to the BDUK DECC.

Edward Vaizey: BDUK will be commissioning an independent review of successful suppliers' solution costs. The review will assess the suppliers' project models against their reference costs; costs incurred during similar historic UK projects and against international benchmarks for superfast deployment.

Leveson Inquiry

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether her predecessor was asked to provide a witness statement and documents to the Leveson Inquiry under section 21(2) of the Inquiries Act 2005.

Maria Miller: Jeremy Hunt provided a statement and supporting documents to the Leveson Inquiry as part of module 3 on the relationship between press and politicians. These were submitted to the Inquiry in May and deposited in the House Libraries in June.

Museums and Galleries

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to increase visitor footfall in (a) the British Museum, (b) the National Gallery, (c) Natural History Museum, (d) Tate Modern, (e) the Science Museum, (f) the Victoria and Albert Museum, (g) the National Portrait Gallery, (h) Old Royal Naval College, (i) Tate Britain and (j) the British Library.

Edward Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has an 'arm's length' relationship with its sponsored museums and galleries, as such they are responsible for deciding how best to attract visitors, by, for example, holding exhibitions and educational visits and working with schools and colleges.
	Since the introduction of free admission to the DCMS sponsored National Museums in 2001, visits to (a) the British Museum, (b) the National Gallery, (c) Natural History Museum, (d) Tate Modern, (e) the Science Museum, (f) the Victoria and Albert Museum, (g) the National Portrait Gallery and (i) Tate Britain have increased overall by 45% to 2011. We do not collect these data for the British Library and Old Royal Naval College, however the British Library has advised that they have experienced a 61% rise in visitor numbers since 2001. Data published by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions shows that visits to the Old Royal Naval College increased by 31% from 2010 to 2011.

Olympic Games 2012

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many full-time equivalent staff working in the (a) Olympic Delivery Authority and (b) other agencies worked on the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games volunteer programme in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11, (iii) 2011-12 and (iv) 2012-13 to date; and if she will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: There was no volunteer programme at the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA). Some ODA staff participated in the Games Maker volunteer programme run by the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG), specifically, in the opening and closing ceremonies. Where required ODA staff took time off (to attend rehearsals) by using their annual leave entitlement. With regard to other agencies, the Department only has one agency, the Royal Parks. No Royal Parks staff volunteered at the Olympic or Paralympic games in an official capacity.

Olympic Games 2012

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much the Olympic Delivery Authority spent in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and (c) 2011-12 and has spent in 2012-13 to date on the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games volunteers; and if she will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has spent no money on Olympic and Paralympic Games volunteers. The London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) funded the Games Maker programme.

Olympic Games 2012

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if she will investigate reports that blacklists were used by contractors completing construction work on public contracts for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games; and whether such contractors used public monies received under such public contracts to pay to obtain information on construction workers from lists maintained by the Consulting Association.

Hugh Robertson: The management of construction contracts for the venues and infrastructure for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is the responsibility of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA). The ODA has no evidence that blacklisting was used by companies working on the Olympic Park, nor of any case to believe that public monies were used to pay for any information of this sort on construction workers.
	The ODA placed the welfare of workers at the heart of the London 2012 construction project from the outset, forming strong relationships with trade unions, including a site-wide agreement on minimum pay, health and safety and union recognition. As a responsible client the ODA required and expected companies to operate within the law at all times.

Olympic Games 2012

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (a) how many discussions and (b) what correspondence Ministers and officials in her Department have had with (i) construction companies and (ii) trade unions on reports that blacklists were used by contractors completing construction work on public contracts for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Hugh Robertson: The management of construction contracts for the venues and infrastructure for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is the responsibility of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA). To date, the Department has not had any discussions with, or received any correspondence from, construction companies or trade unions on this matter.

Olympic Games 2012: Tickets

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport when her Department plans to publish (a) the names of those dignitaries to whom it allocated London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games tickets and (b) the number of staff who purchased tickets.

Hugh Robertson: The Government pledged to publish these details following the Olympic and Paralympic Games and will do so this autumn.

Public Transport: WiFi

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with public transport providers to ensure maximum Wi-Fi accessibility for commuters.

Edward Vaizey: The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Minister for Women and Equalities, my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller), together with the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), is planning to meet the leading providers of mobile networks and rail services in January 2013 to agree how access to mobile broadband services as well as Wi-Fi can be improved for alt passengers. This will build on a constructive meeting held with officials of both Departments on 13 September 2012. The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Minister for Women and Equalities has not held any meetings with other public transport providers such as bus companies.

Unsolicited Goods and Services: Mobile Phones

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether her Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated research into unsolicited subscription-rate text messages.

Edward Vaizey: The Department has not commissioned nor evaluated research into unsolicited subscription-rate text messages. The Office of Communications (Ofcom) has responsibility and accountability for the regulation of Premium Rate Services (PRS) of this nature, under the terms of the Communications Act 2003. Ofcom has designated PhonepayPlus to deliver the day-to-day regulation through its Code of Practice, which includes conducting general and specific market research. PhonepayPlus regulates all premium rate subscription text messages, which are typically those that are charged at a higher rate than standard texts. Further details about PhonepayPlus's on-going activity can be viewed at:
	http://www.phonepayplus.org.uk

Unsolicited Goods and Services: Mobile Phones

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether she has had any recent discussions with PhonePayPlus regarding unsolicited subscription-rate text messages.

Edward Vaizey: The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, has had no recent discussions with PhonepayPlus, the independent regulatory body with day-to-day responsibility for the regulation of the Premium Rate Servicesmarket in the UK, concerning unsolicited subscription text messages. However, as Minister for Culture, Communications and the Creative Industries I met Andrew Pinder, Chairman of PhonepayPlus, on 31 October.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

News International

Chris Bryant: To ask the Attorney-General whether he was consulted on what texts, emails and other correspondence between the Prime Minister and News International should be (a) published and (b) provided to the Leveson Inquiry.

Dominic Grieve: By long-standing convention, observed by successive administrations and embodied in the Ministerial Code, the fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised on a particular issue, and the content of any advice, is not disclosed outside of Government.

Proceeds of Crime

Mary Macleod: To ask the Attorney-General what guidance is issued to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on circumstances in which police forces may apply for the discharge of an order made under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 on behalf of the CPS.

Oliver Heald: No guidance has been issued to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on the circumstances in which police forces may apply for the discharge of an order made under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA). However, the CPS has produced its own guidance to prosecutors on restraint orders which is available on the CPS website and can be found at:
	http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/p_to_r/proceeds_of_crime_ act_guidance/
	If the circumstances which led to the obtaining of the restraint order continue to exist the restraint orders will remain in place. In the case of a restraint order obtained on the basis that proceedings for an offence have been started, the guidance states that proceedings do not conclude within the meaning of section 85(5)(a) of POCA until such time as any confiscation order made in the proceedings has been fully paid. The CPS Legal Guidance states that prosecutors should not agree to the discharge of a restraint order until such time as the confiscation order is satisfied.

WALES

Police and Crime Commissioners

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions his Department had on the languages of the police and crime commissioner election ballot paper with (a) the Home Office, (b) the Welsh Government, (c) the Welsh Language Commissioner and (d) any other person; and on what dates any such discussions took place.

David Jones: Wales Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Departmental Staff

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of his Department's staff are (a) male and (b) female.

Stephen Crabb: As at 31 October 2012, 46% of staff were male and 54% of staff were female.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Staff

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of his Department's staff are (a) male and (b) female.

David Mundell: Information on gender breakdown is contained in the Scotland Office Annual Report, and can be found at the following link:
	http://www.scotlandoffice.gov.uk/scotlandoffice/10797.135.html

EDUCATION

Adoption: Newton Abbot

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many couples in Newton Abbot constituency adopted a child in each of the last three years.

Edward Timpson: Information on the exact number of couples who adopted a child is not available. The Department collects information on the numbers of looked after children who have been adopted by single people, civil partners, married and unmarried (same sex and different sex) couples. Some couples will adopt two or more children; therefore the number of couples who adopt will be lower than the number of children adopted.
	The information on numbers of adoptions is not available at constituency level. Therefore information has been provided showing the numbers of looked after children adopted by single people and couples in Devon local authority.
	
		
			 Children looked after who were adopted during the years ending 31 March by legal status of adopters(1). Years ending 31 March 2010 to 2012. Coverage: Devon local authority 
			 Number 
			  2010 2011 2012 
			 All looked after children who were adopted during the year ending 31 March 20 15 15 
			     
			 Legal status and gender of adopters 0 x 0 
			 Single adopter 0 0 0 
			 Same sex couple not in civil partnership 0 0 x 
			 Different sex unmarried couple 0 0 0 
			 Civil partnership couple 20 10 15 
			 Married couple 0 x 0 
			 x = Figures not shown in order to protect confidentiality. (1) Numbers have been rounded to the nearest five. Source: SSDA 903

Educational Institutions: Construction

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what funding his Department allocated for the building of new (a) primary schools, (b) secondary schools and (c) further education colleges for the financial years (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and what estimate he has made of the budget for such building in each financial year up to 2014-15.

David Laws: The total amount of capital funding allocated by the Department for Education in 2010-11 and 2011-12 was:
	
		
			 Financial year Capital grant funding (£ million) 
			 2010-11 7,125 
			 2011-12 5,051 
		
	
	The Department, via the Education Funding Agency, allocates the majority of available capital resources directly to local authority areas. This enables them to establish their priorities for investment and to provide resources to those schools most in need. The Department did not ask local authorities to report the amounts that they allocated to each of their schools so we are unable to provide the split requested. This Department's remit does not extend to further education colleges.
	The Department's capital budgets were set at the last spending review and were increased by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his autumn statement last year. The budgets for the remainder of this spending review period are shown as follows. The allocations to schools will be confirmed in due course.
	
		
			 Financial year Capital budget (£ million) 
			 2012-13 4,563 
			 2013-14 3,681 
			 2014-15 3,813

Free School Meals

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of children in each (a) primary and (b) secondary school were eligible for free school meals in each local authority area in the most recent year for which figures are available.

David Laws: Information on the number and percentage of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals in each state-funded primary and state-funded secondary school has been placed in the House Libraries.
	Information on the number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals as at January 2012 is published in the Statistical First Release 'Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, January 2012' available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001071/index.shtml

Free School Meals

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when his Department plans to publish research on the take-up of free school meals.

David Laws: I refer the hon. Member to my answer given on 29 October 2012, Official Report, column 11:
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm121029/debtext/121029-0001.htm#1210294000004
	Research from the Department on the take-up of free school meals will be published shortly.

Languages: Teachers

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what progress he has made in increasing the number of (a) Hindi, (b) Arabic, (c) Portuguese, (d) Russian, (e) Punjabi, (f) Mandarin and (g) Cantonese language teachers in (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools; and how many teachers are qualified to teach such subjects to GCSE level.

David Laws: The Department does not collect information on the individual language subjects taught by all serving teachers. In November 2011, there were 3,300 teachers in service teaching modern foreign languages other than French, German and Spanish. This is the same as in November 2010.
	In November 2011, 34% of those teachers teaching ‘other modern foreign languages' held a post A-level qualification in a relevant subject. This is a small increase of one percentage point compared with the previous year (33%).
	We have proposed the introduction of a language as a statutory subject at Key Stage 2 from 2014. We are also encouraging greater take up of languages at Key Stage 4 by the inclusion of a modern or ancient language in the English Baccalaureate.
	We are ensuring the continued supply of high quality graduates to teacher training by offering bursaries of up to £20,000 in modern languages.

Primary Education: Teachers

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of boys (a) eligible and (b) not eligible for free school meals were taught in primary schools in which there were no qualified full-time male teachers, in each local authority area, in the most recent 12 months for which figures are available.

David Laws: holding answer 1 November 2012
	The information requested has been placed in the House Libraries.
	Information on the number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals as at January 2012 is published in the Statistical First Release 'Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, January 2012' available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001071/index.shtml

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools in Newton Abbot constituency received funding from the pupil premium in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and how much such funding schools in Newton Abbot constituency will receive in 2012-13.

David Laws: The pupil premium was introduced in April 2011; therefore payments were first made for the 2011-12 financial year. Pupil premium funding is provided to schools which have on roll pupils known to be eligible for free school meals (the deprivation premium); children in care who have been continuously looked after for at least six months (the looked after child premium); and children whose parents are serving in the armed forces (the service child premium).
	In the financial year 2011-12, 1,530 pupils in Newton Abbot constituency area were eligible for either the deprivation premium or service child premium, attracting £732,000. This funding was distributed between 34 schools in the Newton Abbot constituency. It is not possible to identify, at constituency level, the number of pupils eligible for the looked after child premium or the number of pupils eligible for the deprivation premium in alternative provision settings.
	In the financial year 2012-13, 2,260 pupils in Newton Abbot constituency area were eligible for either the deprivation premium or service child premium, attracting £1.381 million. In 2012-13 eligibility for the deprivation premium has been extended from pupils known to be currently eligible for free school meals (FSM) to pupils who have been known to be eligible for FSM at any point in the last six years. This funding was distributed between 34 schools in the Newton Abbot constituency.

Pupils: Languages

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which (a) primary and (b) secondary schools have more than (i) 50 per cent, (ii) 60 per cent, (iii) 70 per cent, (iv) 80 per cent and (v) 90 per cent of pupils with a first language other than English, in each local authority in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Laws: holding answer 31 October 2012
	Information on those state funded primary and secondary schools with more than 50% of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English has been placed in the House Libraries.
	The latest information on first language has been published as part of the 'Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, January 2012' Statistical First Release at
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001071/index.shtml/

Schools: Finance

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what progress he has made towards establishing a national funding formula for schools in England; and if he will make a statement.

David Laws: holding answer 2 November 2012
	On 26 March 2012 the Secretary of State for Education, announced the Government's intention to introduce a new national funding formula during the next spending review period.
	In the meantime we are making a number of changes to the way that local authorities distribute funding to schools. Funding will need to be distributed using much simpler local formulae and on a much more transparent basis. These changes will take effect from April 2013 and will provide an important first step towards a national funding formula.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to reply to question 121841, tabled by the hon. Member for Gedling on 17 September 2012 for answer on 15 October 2012.

Elizabeth Truss: Response was issued to the hon. Member's question on 2 November 2012, Official Report, column 402W.

Young People: Employment Schemes

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education on what date his Department expects to publish the first performance data for the element of the Youth Contract relating to young people aged from 16 to 17 years.

David Laws: holding answer 29 October 2012
	Youth Contract provision began this September. The programme targets 16 and 17-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) and who are at risk of long term disengagement. It aims to support them into education, training or apprenticeships. We will publish the first set of performance data for the Youth Contract at the end of the 2012-13 financial year. Thereafter, the data will be updated and published every six months.

JUSTICE

Ashwell Prison

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice who calculated the market value of HMP Ashwell; and when that market value was established.

Jeremy Wright: The site of the former Ashwell prison was valued by the Valuation Office Agency on 18 June 2012.

Community Orders

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on whether a claimant will be treated as available for work under jobseeker's allowance regulations when a sentence which includes the requirement to undertake a full week of unpaid work is imposed;
	(2)  whether he has discussed with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions the effect of a sentence on an offender claiming jobseeker's allowance including a requirement to undertake a full week of unpaid work on the treatment of the claimant as available for work under regulations governing jobseeker's allowance.

Jeremy Wright: Changes to unpaid work are being introduced to make the sentence more demanding for offenders. In future, with intensive Community Payback, unemployed offenders will have a full week of unpaid work, comprising four seven hour days of unpaid work and one day for job search activities.
	National Offender Management Service officials have worked with the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure that complying with an intensive unpaid work requirement should not disqualify unemployed offenders from claiming jobseeker’s allowance.
	Claimants will be treated as available for work under jobseeker’s allowance regulations when a sentence which includes the requirement to undertake a full week of unpaid work is imposed provided they are able to fulfil the eligibility criteria including job seeking, attending job interviews, signing on fortnightly and, if the opportunity arises, taking up employment.
	Providers, for their part, when organising unpaid work are expected to give priority to enabling the offender to fulfil the eligibility criteria for jobseeker’s allowance. This will require flexibility in scheduling work and coordination with local Jobcentre Plus offices. For example on entering employment or on taking up training or educational commitments offenders will move to the minimum rate of seven hours unpaid work per week. Some offenders may therefore move out of intensive Community Payback to comply with the jobseeker’s allowance eligibility criteria.

Duchy of Cornwall

Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will bring forward legislative proposals to make the Duchy of Cornwall subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Helen Grant: The Duchy of Cornwall is not a public authority for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and there is no intention to extend the Act to the Duchy of Cornwall in general.

Electronic Tagging

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the timetable from inception to go live is for the tendering process for his new electronic tagging contract; and what each key milestone is.

Jeremy Wright: The announcement of preferred bidders is expected in February 2013 with contract award due at the end of April. Invitations to submit detailed bids will be extended on 23 November 2012 and returned by 21 December 2012. The precise timing of the transition to the new contracts will depend on the mobilisation proposals of the successful bidders. It will also depend on the completion of system integration tests during the mobilisation period. It is though anticipated that full transition to the new contracts will be in autumn/winter 2013.

Employment Tribunals Service: Newton Abbot

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many employment tribunals cases have been brought against businesses in Newton Abbot constituency in each year since May 2010.

Helen Grant: The Ministry of Justice publishes, annually and quarterly, Official Statistics on tribunal work loads, including data on national receipts and disposals in the employment tribunals system.
	This published data on new claim receipts for employment tribunals is not broken down by geographical locations. However, it is possible to interrogate Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service's case management systems to produce management information on workloads by reference to, among other criteria, the postcodes of respondent employers in 'live' (or recently disposed of) employment tribunal proceedings.
	Save where an appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal is lodged, case records (including electronic case management entries) are archived a year after the point of disposal. Once archived, statistical data is retained but anonymised. Therefore it is no longer possible to retrieve data by reference to party details, including address details of the respondent employers involved.
	Using management information for the last complete and available reporting period (1 October 2011 to 30 June 2012), 47 claims were accepted by the Employment Tribunal Office in Exeter (the office covering the Newton Abbot geographical area) where the respondent employer's address was listed in the Newton Abbot constituency. For the purposes of answering this question, we have assumed that the constituency is coterminous with the postcode districts TQ12 and TQ14.
	Management information for the remainder of the last available 12 month period (July, August and September 2012) cannot be released under Official Statistics protocols until data on 2012/13 Quarter 2 is published on 17 January 2013.

Legal Aid Scheme

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he proposes that all legal aid practitioners will be given training on his new online application system for civil legal aid.

Damian Green: All legal aid practitioners who hold a contract to conduct civil legal aid work will have access to training in advance of using the new online application system.

Offenders: Probation

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what proportion of offenders were in employment at the termination of their probation order for all probation trusts in England and Wales on the latest date for which figures are available, relative to national targets for 2011-12;
	(2)  what proportion of probation orders or licences were successfully completed for all probation trusts in England and Wales on the latest date for which figures are available, relative to national targets for 2011-12;
	(3)  what proportion of offenders had accommodation on the completion of their probation order for all probation trusts in England and Wales on the latest date for which figures are available, relative to national targets for 2011-12.

Jeremy Wright: The information requested is set out in the following table.
	The table shows for each indicator the performance of each trust alongside the required level of delivery as set out in the probation trust's contract for 2011-12 as agreed with the commissioner. No national targets are set for these indicators.
	In line with the established way of reporting against employment and accommodation outturns, the figures in the table also include offenders on licence.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	
		
			 2011-12 
			  Percentage of offenders in employment at termination of order or licence Percentage of orders and licenses successfully completed Percentage of offenders in settled and suitable accommodation at termination of order or licence 
			 Probation trust Outturn Target Outturn Target Outturn Target 
			 Avon and Somerset 47 40 77 70 85 75 
			 Bedfordshire 50 44 77 73 88 80 
			 Cambridgeshire 47 45 74 73 87 78 
			 Cheshire 52 40 79 73 89 80 
			 Cumbria 53 45 73 70 88 75 
			 Derbyshire 53 46 73 74 90 80 
			 Devon and Cornwall 46 40 76 70 85 77 
			 Dorset 47 40 88 72 81 75 
			 Durham Tees Valley 41 40 76 75 86 80 
			 Essex 55 45 76 73 89 79 
			 Gloucestershire 54 40 76 72 87 76 
			 Greater Manchester 48 39 77 70 88 80 
			 Hampshire 55 47 76 12 83 75 
			 Hertfordshire 56 45 79 72 88 78 
			 Humberside 45 40 76 77 90 80 
			 Kent 45 40 72 70 81 70 
			 Lancashire 53 43 72 70 89 75 
			 Leicestershire 49 45 74 72 87 85 
			 Lincolnshire 49 46 77 75 85 83 
			 London 55 51 77 71 86 80 
			 Merseyside 43 35 78 70 88 80 
			 Norfolk and Suffolk 49 40 72 71 86 85 
			 North Yorkshire 44 42 82 78 88 80 
			 Northamptonshire 55 43 76 76 90 79 
			 Northumbria 46 40 87 80 88 83 
			 Nottinghamshire 47 43 72 72 87 80 
			 South Yorkshire 40 36 77 76 86 80 
			 Staffordshire and West Midlands 46 40 73 70 88 80 
			 Surrey and Sussex 53 40 78 75 82 75 
			 Thames Valley 54 47 73 70 84 77 
			 Wales 51 40 73 70 85 75 
			 Warwickshire 61 42 79 70 90 80 
			 West Mercia 53 45 77 70 87 80 
			 West Yorkshire 43 36 84 77 85 78 
			 Wiltshire 49 40 82 72 87 77

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) convicted and (b) remand prisoners had a country of origin other than the UK in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: Information is not held on prisoners' country of origin, but we do hold information on prisoners' self-declared nationality. The following table shows the number of remand and sentenced prisoners by nationality as at 30 June in each of the last five years.
	
		
			 Prison population: Remand and immediate custodial sentences by nationality, 2008 to 2012, England and Wales, as at 30 June each year 
			  2008 2009 2009(1) 2010 2011 2012 
			 Remand 13,440 13,456 13,276 13,004 12,464 11,324 
			 British nationals 10,318 10,369 10,494 9,573 9,583 8,672 
			 Foreign nationals 2,408 2,385 2,349 2,499 2,362 2,073 
			 Unrecorded nationality 713 702 433 932 519 579 
			        
			 Immediate custodial sentence 68,124 68,375 62,503 65,521 66,189 73,562 
			 British nationals 60,275 60,716 54,575 56,439 57,914 64,525 
			 Foreign nationals 7,682 7,502 7,418 7,554 7,346 7,694 
		
	
	
		
			 Unrecorded nationality 168 156 510 1,528 929 1,343 
			 (1) Due to the introduction of a new prison IT system, the 2010 prison population data is now taken from a different source. The 2009 figures from both the old and new systems have been presented to aid comparison. Data Sources and Quality: These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisons

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what capital expenditure over £10,000 was made at HMP Ashwell and HMP Wellingborough, by type of spend, in each of the last five financial years.

Jeremy Wright: Capital expenditure over £10,000 for HMP Ashwell and HMP Wellingborough for the last five financial years is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Description 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 HMP Ashwell      
			 Major capital building works 3.2 8.7 0.6 0.1 0 
			 Local capital acquisitions 0.195 0.106 0.035 0 0 
			 Total 3.395 8.806 0.635 0.1 0 
			       
			 HMP Wellingborough      
			 Major capital building works 3.5 1.1 0.2 0.1 0 
			 Local capital acquisitions (net) 0.060 0.038 0.055 0.128 0.115 
			 Total 3.560 1.138 0.255 0.228 0.115 
			 Notes: 1. Figures subject to rounding. 2. HMP Ashwell closed at the end of 2010-11. 3. The capitalisation threshold increased from £5,000 to £10,000 from 1 April 2010. 
		
	
	The local capital acquisition figures are based on costs met directly by each establishment on capital items including plant and mechanical equipment, and machinery. Expenditure on major capital building works at each prison is that met at regional or national level.
	HMP Wellingborough has around £32 million of identfied works at the site. It is estimated that £50 million would be required for a full reburbishment programme to make the prison fit-for-purpose, which would include the demolition of A to E Wings and construction of a new houseblock.

Public Appointments

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many appointments made to the boards of public bodies overseen by his Department have been (a) male and (b) female since May 2010.

Jeremy Wright: The number of public appointments made to bodies overseen by the Ministry of Justice have been (a) 567 male and (b) 592 female since May 2010.

Unpaid Fines: West Midlands

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 19 October 2012, Official Report, column 500W, on unpaid fines: West Midlands, what steps he is taking to improve the repayment level of fines.

Helen Grant: Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) continues to implement and embed the principles set out in the Criminal Compliance and Enforcement Services Blueprint launched in July 2008. All regions have been focusing on directing resources to 'up front' compliance actions rather than 'back end' enforcement action such as warrant issue. Up front initiatives include the increased use of telephone and text message chasing, increased use of intelligence tracing tools and increased use of sanctions such as deductions from benefits and attachment of earnings.
	During 2011-12 enforcement teams were restructured to integrate 18 different business units across HMCTS into a national structure for the first time. Work is ongoing to centralise and merge functions within regions and across HMCTS. This includes the development of national standard operating procedures for compliance and enforcement functions.
	To build on improvements made in recent years in fine collection HMCTS is embarking on an ambitious programme of reform. While implementing the Criminal Compliance and Enforcement Services Blueprint a number of areas were identified where fundamental change is necessary in order to improve further, in order to increase fine collection, better serve the public and deliver value for tax payers' money. To meet these challenges HMCTS is looking to form a partnership with a commercial company for future provision of the service.
	A partnership would bring the necessary investment and technology HMCTS needs to achieve its aspirations for compliance and enforcement services in the future. It will enable the automation of many of the manual administrative processes and in turn decrease the cost of providing fine enforcement and increase the amount of fines that are paid. The innovation this will bring and the use of automated administrative processes will free up staff time to be more pro-active in pursuing offenders to ensure they comply with the orders of the court.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Developing Countries: Malnutrition

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will ensure that measures to tackle hunger and malnutrition in the developing world are included in the agenda for discussions during the UK's presidency of the G8 in 2013; and if she will make a statement.

Justine Greening: On 1 November, in an article in the Wall Street Journal, the Prime Minister confirmed that, following the Olympic Hunger Summit in August, the UK Government will continue to lead the battle against hunger with an event in 2013.
	The Prime Minister has not yet announced his priorities for the UK's G8 presidency. He will do so shortly.

Ethiopia

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when she plans to publish the findings of the UK-led independent multi-agency mission to South Omo in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's Region, Ethiopia in January 2012.

Justine Greening: I am considering, with USAID, whether to publish this report.

Ethiopia

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether her Department found that human rights violations were occurring in South Omo in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's Region, Ethiopia during its recent mission to that area.

Justine Greening: The Department for International Development was not able to substantiate the allegations of human rights violation it received during its visit to South Omo in January 2012, and will be returning to the area to examine these further.

International Assistance

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of UK-Israeli co-operation on international development.

Alan Duncan: While we engage closely with Israel on issues affecting development in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, we do not currently have any joint international development projects with Israel. We would consider any proposals made by Israel's Agency for International Development Co-operation, MASHAV, for collaboration on areas of mutual interest on their own specific merits.
	Israel is also a member of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation, established in December 2011 at Busan. Through this forum we have the opportunity to engage with Israel and other countries as necessary to maintain and strengthen support for more effective development co-operation.

Palestinians

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what arrangements are in place to ensure that UK financial aid to the Palestinian Authority is not directly or indirectly appropriated by Hamas.

Alan Duncan: DFID provides support to the Palestinian Authority, whose expenditure remains completely separate from the finances and political programme of Hamas. The UK takes extensive precautions to ensure that our support conforms with European Union and UK legislation on terrorist financing, and that Hamas does not derive any financial benefit from our projects.
	In addition to ensuring that no UK funding goes directly to Hamas, we work closely with our partners to ensure that they have appropriate risk management and audit processes to confirm that financial rules are followed and no funds are transferred to Hamas.

Palestinians

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development for what projects the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in the Palestinian Territories have received funding from her Department.

Alan Duncan: The majority of UK support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is channelled through its General Fund rather than for specific projects. This is UNRWA's preferred funding mechanism as it enables them to allocate resources effectively according to need. From 2007 to 2011 the UK provided £110 million in core support, and in June this year I announced that we would continue this support by committing £106.5 million between 2012 and 2015. Such core support is essential as it enables UNRWA to provide health, education and relief and social services to Palestinian refugees.
	Where appropriate, the UK has also provided support for specific projects. Currently the UK is supporting two UNRWA projects in Gaza, their "Job Creation Programme" and the construction of 14 new schools.

Palestinians

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what processes are in place to monitor the effectiveness of UK aid to the Palestinian Authority and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

Alan Duncan: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Finchley and Golders Green (Mike Freer) on 11 July 2012, Official Report, column 288W.

Palestinians

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department contributed to the Palestinian Authority general budget in the latest period for which figures are available; and how that contribution is distributed.

Alan Duncan: The UK provides financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority (PA) through a World Bank trust fund. From 2009 to 2011 the UK provided £107 million to help the PA fund the provision of basic services and develop Palestinian institutions.
	The World Bank agree a reform plan with the PA each year and only transfer UK money during the year if the plan is on track; they also carry out close monitoring of PA expenditure.

South Sudan

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will estimate the proportion of the textbooks provided to South Sudanese children as a result of aid provided by her Department produced in formats that are accessible to visually impaired children; and whether such textbooks have been written in such a way as to improve social inclusion and social cohesion between different population groups.

Lynne Featherstone: On average every primary school text book in South Sudan is shared by six children. The UK is funding the printing and distribution of 9.2 million textbooks and 400,000 supplementary readers to all of the primary schools in South Sudan. As a result, for the first time, over 2 million primary school children and over-age students attending Accelerated Learning Programmes will have access to textbooks in the five main subjects.
	The textbook printing and distribution is being undertaken on an emergency basis to ensure that textbooks reach schools next academic year. We have worked with the Ministry of General Education to ensure the highest possible quality of the textbooks. While we have not been able to explicitly address visual impairment in this emergency textbook distribution, we have worked to ensure the textbooks reflect South Sudan's cultural diversity, support social inclusion and cohesion and are gender sensitive. We are working with the Ministry to develop a textbook policy and capacity development strategy to ensure that future iterations of the textbooks are refined and improved, including to meet the needs of visually impaired pupils.

Yemen

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will estimate the cost of UK support for the recent presidential elections in Yemen.

Alan Duncan: The UK provided £1,605,000 in support of the Yemeni interim presidential election held in February 2012.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Public Appointments

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many appointments made to the boards of the public body overseen by her Department have been (a) male and (b) female since May 2010.

Michael Penning: Since May 2010, 43 public appointments (including re-appointments) were made to public bodies overseen by the Northern Ireland Office; 27 of these were male and 16 were female.

Departmental Staff

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of her Department's staff are (a) male and (b) female.

Michael Penning: As at 30 September 2012, the latest date for which figures are available, my Department's staff comprised 82 (51%) males and 80 (49%) females.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Work Capability Assessment

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to improve the work capability assessment.

Mark Hoban: The Department for Work and Pensions are committed to continuously improving the WCA to ensure that it is as fair and accurate as possible. An internal review of the WCA was completed in March 2010 with the recommendations of the review implemented in March 2011. There is also a statutory commitment to independently review the WCA for the first five years after it was implemented. Professor Harrington has published two reviews, and will publish his third before the end of the year. DWP has implemented all of the recommendations from the first review and have either implemented or are progressing all of the recommendations from the second review.

Disability Strategy

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions the Minister for Disabled People has had with his ministerial colleagues on the Government's disability strategy.

Esther McVey: I have discussed what disabled people have told me with my colleagues in Government. Most recently I met the Minister of State for Care Services, the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb). The Government are committed to co-producing our strategy with disabled people and I have made a point of engaging directly with them to listen to their concerns, their ideas and solutions.

Exempt Accommodation

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he proposes that in the event of the exempt accommodation system being localised, the current budgets will be (a) maintained with adjustment for inflation and (b) ringfenced.

Steve Webb: For the longer term we are exploring a range of options, including the feasibility of a localised funding system. Decisions on funding will be made in the context of these new arrangements.

Exempt Accommodation

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his proposed timescale is for introducing a new system for meeting the housing costs of supported exempt accommodation.

Steve Webb: We recently announced that help towards housing costs for those living in supported exempt accommodation will be provided outside universal credit. In the short term this means that, from the introduction of universal credit in October 2013, help will be delivered broadly as now through local authorities. For the longer term we are exploring the feasibility of a localised funding system, which will help inform the optimum timing for introducing any new arrangements.

Housing Benefit

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what timetable he has set for his proposed plans to remove housing benefit from individuals under the age of 25.

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which groups would need to be exempted if his proposed reduction to under 25s housing benefit is introduced; and how much his Department estimates the measure will save once the exemptions and any associated administrative costs have been taken into account.

Steve Webb: Current Government policy does not include withdrawing housing support from people aged under 25.

Incapacity Benefit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his initial estimate was of the date by which the incapacity benefit reassessment exercise would be completed; and what his most recent estimate is.

Mark Hoban: The full roll-out of the incapacity benefit reassessment began nationally on 4 April 2011 and was expected to take three years to complete.
	We are on track to complete the whole reassessment process by spring 2014.

Older Workers: Brighton and Hove

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the number of people aged over 65 in (a) Brighton and Hove and (b) Brighton, Kemptown constituency in the working population in each over the last 15 years.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated November 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what recent estimate he has made of the number of people aged over 65 in (a) Brighton and Hove and (b) Brighton, Kemptown constituency in the working population in each over the last 15 years. (126968)
	Due to small sample sizes, estimates for the number of people aged 65 and over in employment in (a) Brighton and Hove and (b) Brighton, Kemptown constituency are not available from the Annual Population Survey (APS), from which ONS compiles local area labour market statistics.

Personal Independence Payment

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the Prime Minister of 17 October 2012, Official Report, column 318, on engagements, whether disabled ex-service personnel will be exempt from face-to-face assessments for personal independence payments.

Esther McVey: On 19 July the Prime Minister announced additional financial support for members of the armed forces who have been seriously injured.
	Eligibility for the new payment, the Armed Forces Independence Payment, will be linked to the level of award an individual receives under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme. Those who are eligible for the Armed Forces Independence Payment will not undergo an additional assessment.
	Injured service and ex-service personnel who chose to apply for PIP or who are not eligible for AFIP, will follow the same application process as other PIP applicants; this may include a face-to-face consultation.

Public Appointments

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many appointments made to the boards of public bodies overseen by his Department have been (a) male and (b) female since May 2010.

Mark Hoban: The number of ministerial public appointments made for the period from May 2010 to March 2012 are as follows:
	
		
			  Male Female 
			 New appointments 10 6 
			 Reappointments and extensions 19 6 
			 Total 29 12 
		
	
	More detailed information on appointments for 2010-11 can be found in the DWP Public Bodies Report 2011 which can be downloaded from
	www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/dwp-public-bodies-2011.pdf
	2011-12 information is expected to appear in a forthcoming cross-government Public Bodies publication.

Public Order Offences

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on how many occasions individuals were accused of committing offences against his Department under the Public Order Act 1936 in the last year for which figures are available.

Mark Hoban: The Department for Work and Pensions does not record or hold this information. Any prosecutions against individuals accused of committing offences against the Department under the Public Order Act 1936 would be brought by the Crown Prosecution Service, not the Department. The Crown Prosecution Service has informed the Department that it does not hold management information on prosecutions brought against individuals for offences committed on departmental premises or against departmental officials under the Public Order Act 1936.

Social Security Benefits

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department has considered allocating benefits proportionally in accordance with defined contact arrangements in child custody cases.

Mark Hoban: We do not consider custody arrangements in current DWP benefits as payments for children are made through tax credits.
	Once it is introduced, universal credit will be paid to the person the child normally lives with.

Departmental Staff

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of his Department's staff are (a) male and (b) female.

Mark Hoban: The figures included are the latest published staff in post on 31 March 2012. This corresponds to the most recent summary figures published on the DWP equality information page on
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/about-dwp/diversity-and-equality/dwp-equality-information/equality-information-2012/
	
		
			 Gender Percentage 
			 Female 68.3 
			 Male 31.8

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions who he plans to appoint as acting senior responsible officer for the universal credit programme.

Mark Hoban: Like other well run large organisations, DWP has a range of contingency plans in place, including for when a member of staff is absent. I do not believe it necessary to comment on each use of such plans. Universal credit remains on track for pathfinder launch in April 2013.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to introduce national minimum standards for (a) face-to-face services for universal credit applicants and (b) replacements for the Social Fund; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: The information is as follows:
	(a) Our current plans are to set out the required standards to underpin the successful and compliant delivery of universal credit face to face services; this includes minimum service standards.
	(b) There are no plans for the social fund because it is not being replaced. Payments for maternity, heating and funeral expenses will continue. Some discretionary payments are being abolished and funding for a new better targeted local provision is being given to local authorities in England and the Scottish and Welsh Governments. Details of the funding for this new local provision have been accompanied by a settlement letter which provides clarity on the purpose of the funding.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether elements of a claim intended to support a claimant's children will be identified separately to universal credit recipients.

Mark Hoban: The universal credit decision notice will explain how much of the maximum award is payable in respect of the children in the household. However, because universal credit is a single payment to which the disregard and taper will be applied we will not separate the award into amounts that correspond to individual elements.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the potential effect on women of the switch to monthly single payments on the introduction of universal credit.

Mark Hoban: Universal credit will be paid as a single amount every month to eligible households. This approach will smooth the transition into work where 75% of employees are paid monthly, will enable claimants to see the effect of decisions about work on total household income and will also encourage claimants to take responsibility for budgeting.
	The Government believe that it is for the household to decide who receives their universal credit and how that money should be budgeted. This approach is in line with evidence that suggests that only 7% of cohabiting couples and only 2% of married couples keep their finances completely separate. To that end we will encourage payment into a joint account where appropriate.
	Moving to a single monthly household payment is a significant change to the way most benefits are currently paid and we will provide support for claimants needing help to manage that change. In exceptional cases alternative payment arrangements may be required. The Government will retain powers to split payments between members of a. couple in joint claim cases. The details and circumstances of these arrangements are still being considered.

CABINET OFFICE

Children

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of children lived in a household in which no person worked in each of the last 30 years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated November 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what proportion of children lived in a household in which no person worked in each of the last 30 years (126990).
	Data on the proportion of children living in workless households are routinely published each year as part of the Working and Workless Households Statistical Bulletin, which uses the Labour Force Survey household datasets. This contains estimates for April to June of each year from 1996 to 2012. Data is not available before 1996. These estimates can be found in the table.
	
		
			 Proportion of children(1) living in workless households(2), April to June 1996-2012, UK—Not seasonally adjusted 
			 Percentage 
			 April to June each year Children living in workless households 
			 1996 19.8 
			 1997 18.6 
			 1998 18.4 
			 1999 17.6 
			 2000 16.4 
			 2001 16.1 
			 2002 16.5 
			 2003 15.9 
			 2004 15.8 
			 2005 15.4 
			 2006 15.3 
			 2007 15.3 
			 2008 15.2 
			 2009 16.7 
			 2010 16.1 
			 2011 15.6 
			 2012 15.1 
			 (1) Children refers to children under 16. (2) A workless household is a household that includes at least one person aged 16 to 64 where no one aged 16 or over is in employment. Source: Labour Force Survey household datasets

Immigration: Kashmir

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate he has made of the size of the Kashmiri-origin population in the UK.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated November 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to respond to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for the Home Department, asking what recent estimate he has made of the size of the Kashmiri-origin population in the UK. (126897)
	The Annual Population Survey (APS), used by the ONS to provide population by country of birth and nationality estimates for the UK, does not record information about Kashmiri origin.
	In the 2011 Census, Kashmiri was not included as a tick-box option on the ethnicity question, but could be self-declared by respondents. Ethnicity data from the 2011 Census will be released between November 2012 and February 2013.

Infant Mortality

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the infant mortality rate in (a) each region and (b) each constituent part of the UK was in each of the last 30 years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated November 2012
	.
	The latest infant mortality figures are for the year 2011. The tables provide the infant mortality rates for each region in England (table 1) and each constituent country of the UK (table 2) for the years 1982 to 2011.
	
		
			 Table 1: Infant mortality rate, regions(1,) England, 1982 to 2011(2) 
			 England 
			  North East North West Yorkshire and the Humber East Midlands West Midlands East of England London South East South West 
			 1982 10.3 12.2 11.6 11.3 12.6 10.6 11.1 10.3 10.7 
			 1983 10.4 10.5 10.9 10.6 10.9 8.6 9.4 9.3 10.1 
			 1984 9.3 9.4 10.4 9.0 11.3 8.6 9.5 8.7 9.1 
			 1985 8.2 9.4 10.3 8.2 10.5 8.5 9.2 9.1 8.5 
			 1986 9.7 10.2 10.5 10.1 10.0 8.4 9.1 8.5 9.3 
			 1987 8.1 9.3 9.9 9.4 9.5 8.1 9.6 8.8 8.6 
			 1988 8.5 9.2 9.3 10.1 10.2 7.5 9.0 8.5 9.5 
			 1989 8.8 8.5 8.9 8.3 9.9 7.1 8.8 7.8 7.9 
			 1990 8.0 8.1 8.9 7.8 9.9 6.0 7.9 7.1 6.8 
			 1991 8.6 7.5 8.6 7.8 8.7 5.7 7.0 6.6 6.3 
			 1992 7.3 6.9 6.6 6.8 8.1 4.8 7.1 5.4 5.7 
			 1993 6.7 6.5 7.4 6.5 7.2 5.4 6.5 5.4 5.7 
			 1994 6.3 6.1 7.7 6.8 7.3 5.3 6.3 4.5 5.4 
			 1995 6.7 6.6 6.9 5.8 7.0 5.1 6.4 5.2 5.2 
			 1996 6.4 6.3 6.6 6.3 6.8 5.4 6.4 5.3 5.6 
			 1997 5.8 6.7 6.5 5.7 7.0 4.8 5.8 5.0 5.8 
			 1998 5.0 6.1 6.9 5.5 6.4 5.0 5.9 4.4 4.8 
			 1999 5.5 6.7 6.2 6.1 7.0 4.7 6.1 4.8 4.6 
			 2000 6.5 6.2 7.3 5.5 6.9 4.4 5.4 4.4 4.6 
			 2001 5.6 5.9 5.8 5.0 6.4 4.5 6.1 4.2 5.4 
			 2002 5.0 5.4 6.2 5.6 6.5 4.4 5.6 4.4 4.4 
			 2003 4.7 5.9 5.8 5.9 7.3 4.5 5.5 4.3 4.0 
			 2004 4.9 5.4 5.5 5.1 6.7 4.2 5.2 3.9 4.8 
			 2005 4.5 5.8 6.1 4.7 6.5 4.0 5.1 3.9 4.5 
			 2006 5.4 5.6 5.7 5.4 6.4 4.1 4.9 4.2 4.1 
			 2007 4.7 5.1 5.7 5.3 6.0 4.3 4.5 3.9 4.2 
			 2008 4.2 5.1 5.4 4.9 6.5 4.4 4.2 4.0 4.0 
			 2009 3.8 4.9 5.5 5.1 6.1 4.0 4.5 3.9 4.0 
			 2010 3.9 4.7 5.2 4.0 5.5 3.6 4.7 3.6 3.3 
			 2011 3.6 4.7 4.9 4.3 6.1 4.1 4.2 3.5 3.7 
			 (1) Using geographic boundaries as of August 2012. (2) Figures are based on registrations in each calendar year. Source: Office for National Statistics. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Infant mortality rate, constituent countries of the UK, 1982 to 2011(1)(,)(2)(,)(3)(,)(4)(,)(5) 
			 United Kingdom 
			  United Kingdom England and Wales England Wales Scotland Northern Ireland 
			 1982 11.0 10.8 11.3 11.2 11.4 13.7 
			 1983 10.2 10.1 10.0 10.6 9.9 12.1 
			 1984 9.6 9.5 9.5 8.8 10.3 10.5 
		
	
	
		
			 1985 9.4 9.4 9.2 9.8 9.4 9.6 
			 1986 9.5 9.6 9.5 9.5 8.8 10.2 
			 1987 9.1 9.2 9.1 9.6 8.5 8.7 
			 1988 9.0 9.0 9.1 7.5 8.2 8.9 
			 1989 8.4 8.4 8.5 8.1 8.7 6.9 
			 1990 7.9 7.9 7.9 6.9 7.7 7.5 
			 1991 7.4 7.4 7.3 6.5 7.1 7.4 
			 1992 6.6 6.6 6.5 6.0 6.8 6.0 
			 1993 6.4 6.3 6.3 5.6 6.5 7.1 
			 1994 6.2 6.2 6.1 5.9 6.2 6.1 
			 1995 6.2 6.1 6.1 6.1 6.2 7.1 
			 1996 6.1 6.1 6.1 5.6 6.2 5.8 
			 1997 5.9 5.9 5.9 5.9 5.3 5.6 
			 1998 5.8 5.7 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 
			 1999 5.8 5.8 5.8 6.5 5.0 6.4 
			 2000 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.2 5.7 5.0 
			 2001 5.5 5.5 5.4 5.5 5.5 6.0 
			 2002 5.3 5.3 5.3 4.7 5.3 4.6 
			 2003 5.3 5.3 5.3 4.1 5.1 5.2 
			 2004 5.1 5.1 5.1 5.1 4.9 5.3 
			 2005 5.1 5.0 5.0 4.3 5.2 6.1 
			 2006 5.0 5.0 5.0 4.1 4.5 5.1 
			 2007 4.8 4.8 4.8 5.3 4.7 4.9 
			 2008 4.7 4.8 4.7 4.1 4.2 4.7 
			 2009 4.6 4.7 4.6 4.8 4.0 5.1 
			 2010 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.0 3.7 5.7 
			 2011 (6)4.3 4.4 4.4 3.9 4.1 (6)4.3 
			 (1 )Figures for the United Kingdom, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland represent country of occurrence. (2 )Figures for infant deaths in England and Wales represent the usual residence of the deceased. Deaths to individuals whose usual residence is outside England and Wales are included in the figures for England and Wales but are excluded from the separate figures for England and Wales. Consequently, figures for England and for Wales will not sum to the England and Wales figures. (3) The infant mortality rates for Northern Ireland represent the rate per 1,000 live births including non Northern Ireland resident births. (4) Infant mortality rates for the United Kingdom are calculated by including births in Northern Ireland to non residents in the denominator. (5) Figures are based on registrations in each calendar year. (6) Data are provisional. Sources: Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.

Major Projects Authority

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many projects examined by the Major Projects Authority have received red/amber status; and which those projects were.

Chloe Smith: holding answer 23 October 2012
	I refer my right hon. Friend to the figures in the NAO report ‘Assurance for Major Projects’ (HC1698, 2 May 2012) which stated that 33 projects had amber/red status in the quarter three Government major project portfolio returns.
	The Government is committed to publishing an annual report covering the first year's operation of the Major Projects Authority, which will include further details.

New Businesses: Brighton and Hove

Simon Kirby: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many new businesses were set up in (a) the UK and (b) Brighton, Kemptown constituency in each of the last three years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated November 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many new businesses were set up in (a) the UK and (b) Brighton, Kemptown constituency in each of the last three years. (127061)
	Annual statistics on the number of enterprise births are available from 2004 onwards in the ONS release on Business Demography at:
	www.statistics.gov.uk
	These statistics are only available up to the calendar year 2010. The results for 2011 will be released in mid- December 2012.
	The following table contains the latest statistics available, which give the number of enterprise births for the United Kingdom and the constituency Brighton, Kemptown 2008-2010, rounded to the nearest 5, Count of enterprise births for United Kingdom and the constituency of Brighton, Kemptown 2008-2010
	
		
			  Year Count Constituency Year Count 
			 United Kingdom 2008 267,445 Brighton, Kemptown 2008 310 
			 United Kingdom 2009 236,030 Brighton, Kemptown 2009 280 
			 United Kingdom 2010 235,145 Brighton, Kemptown 2010 300

Departmental Staff

Luciana Berger: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of his Department's staff are (a) male and (b) female.

Francis Maude: Information on work force diversity in the Cabinet Office is available at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/content/public-sector-equality-duty

Unemployment: Mothers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of mothers who do not work who have a youngest child aged (a) 0 to five, (b) five to 11 and (c) 11 to 18 years old.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what estimate has been made of the number of mothers who do not work who have a youngest child between (a) 0 to five, (b) five to 11 and (c) 11 to 18 years old (126564).
	For the UK, the latest information available is from the Labour Force Survey household datasets, for April to June 2012.
	Using the age bands requested would result in the number of mothers not in work with a youngest dependent child aged 5 being included in two categories (youngest child aged 0-5 years and aged 5-11 years) as would be the case for mothers not in work with a youngest dependent child aged 11. Therefore estimates of the number of mothers not in work with a youngest dependent child in the age groups 0-5, 6-11 and 12-18 years have been provided.
	These estimates can be found in the attached table.
	
		
			 Number of mothers(1) who are not in work(2), by age of youngest dependent child(3), April to June 2012, UK 
			 Thousand 
			  Age of youngest dependent child 
			  0-5 years 6-11 years 12-18 years 
			 Mothers not in work 1,434 522 458 
			 (1) Mothers are women aged 16-64 years old. (2) Not in work includes mothers who are unemployed or inactive. (3) Dependent children are children under 16 and those aged 16 to 18 who are never-married and in full-time education. Source: Labour Force Survey household datasets.